


Two Seconds

by Badept



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Action/Adventure, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23092687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badept/pseuds/Badept
Summary: All it took were two seconds. Two seconds, one dumb decision, one charitable youkai's intervention, and now he was in a place called Gensokyo. He was in a place that he shouldn't be, in a place that shouldn't exist, with no chance of going back to the world he once knew. What could he do aside from go back to making sure the truth came to light, in a place that needed it the most?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Stranger In A Strange Land

**Here is my contribution to the Touhou Archive! It's been a while since I've done this so please point out anything that you think is critique-worthy in this and any subsequent chapters. Please feel free to message me if you want and I'll get back to you when I can! I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

It was a sunny day in San Francisco. Due to it being a sunny day, in the middle of August, in San Francisco, most of the people who were out and about were trying their best to make sure that the heat didn't get to them. Due to the intense heat wave that had been plaguing the West Coast since April. The City had sent out multiple warnings for the heat, but that didn't stop the massive influx of Summer tourists from infesting the city.

Just like any day in San Francisco, there was a whole detachment of police whose sole duty was to patrol the Golden Gate Bridge. One of those officers was Corporal Timothy (or Tim to his friends) Garcia. Tim had only been on the force for roughly three years now, and had been wanting to be rotated to this department his whole career.

He stood next to his bike, which even though it made him look kind of silly, due to the girth of his biceps, no one decided to heckle him. About forty or so feet away from him, there were some teenagers hanging out. One of them had a Bluetooth speaker and was playing some song at an overly-loud volume. The lyrics of the song got to Tim, who felt that the lyrics were more than a little... uncouth, especially considering the location and what it was known for.

_My legs are dangling off the edge, the bottom of the bottle is my only friend, I think I'll slit my wrist again and I'm gone, gone, gone, gone!_

He grimaced at the lyrics that the kids were singing along to. If they were from around here they should have known better than to play something that... bad of form.

_Probably tourists or something._

He looked down toward the other end of the walkway and watched the people come by. He watched as a few retirees, a group of Chinese tourists moving together in what almost be called a herd, and a very pretty woman who didn't seem to pay him any attention. She definitely had some pretty yellow eyes.

After a moment, he saw the kind of person that he had been trained to look out for, on top of everything else.

The person in question was a white male in what he guessed was his early to mid twenties. He was wearing sunglasses so he couldn't make out the color of his eyes, but the man must have had at least a sense of fashion because the sunglasses complemented the business suit that he was wearing. He thought that until he looked at the man's shoes and saw that he was wearing a pair of cherry-red Converse sneakers.

The way that the guy was carrying himself, along with the way that his head occasionally turned to look over the side of the bridge, told him that this man was looking to do. Tim had to act fast.

He slowly made his way toward the man, the throng of people parting for the man in uniform. The man didn't seem to notice him yet, him having stopped and leaning on the rail.

He had gotten so close, but in the end the man saw him and must have guessed he was coming toward him, because he clambered over the railing and was now on the cord, out of Tim's reach. Tim swore under his breath and ran to meet the man.

"This is Officer 1-8-5-6, we have a 801 in progress at The Bridge, past the First Arch! I need backup!" He shouted into the radio.

He wasn't paying attention to Dispatch anymore. He heard the radio chatter but he was too focused on the man that he couldn't make it out. When he got there, the man was standing with his back to the Bay, as if he was waiting for someone to meet him.

"Hey man! Do you need to talk to someone? I'm here for you man!" Tim said to the man.

"I don't need to talk, but I need you to listen!" He shouted back.

"Alright, man, I'm listening! What's wrong?!"

"Oh, so fucking much!"

The man began ranting and raving about all sorts of things as he paced along the cord with a manic grin. From what Tim could put together, this man had lost everything, and he decided that the most prudent action was to destroy himself.

"... And I am sure that all of this shit started because I just learned of some conspiracy shit! Everyone who can hear me, pay some damn good attention, because this rabbit hole goes so goddamn deep!"

"Come on man, we can talk about it at the station, just-"

"Find out everything that you can about Gensokyo!"

No one noticed, but the blonde woman that had passed by Tim, who had also stopped to see what the commotion was, visibly bristled at the mention of this "Gensokyo". She moved her right hand slightly, and an eye that no one seemed to notice materialized near the man, seemingly as if the bridge had grown it. The blonde woman got a good look at the man before he jumped off of the bridge.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Tim as he saw the man start to fall. In four seconds, he was going to hit the water at a high enough speed that it would shatter bone, pop organs, and if the man didn't just die instantly, he would suffer until he finally drowned.

Another second passed, and it seemed like the space around the man opened. Tim could see for a moment, so many eyes on the inside of the opening in space. In another second, the man was gone, along with the hole in reality.

* * *

The man had closed his eyes out of reflex when he jumped, but it seemed like it was taking much longer than he had researched to hit the water. It seemed like he was hitting things as he fell, but he was too afraid to open his eyes and look at what he was hitting.

When he felt the shock of cold water, his eyes shot open almost instantly. This caused him more than a little bit of pain due to the slight murkiness of the water. He could see clearly enough to figure out that he was upside-down, but other than that, all it looked like was water. He righted himself and then started kicking and flailing upward as hard as he could. He didn't have any air in his lungs, so he was more than a little terrified of the thought of drowning here. He knew that adrenaline was a powerful chemical, but he was approaching the surface of the water quicker than he expected. As his vision started to darken and tighten, he broke the surface.

When he broke the surface, he took in a massive breath that left him in a coughing fit. He pushed his sopping wet hair out of his eyes and looked around frantically. He wasn't in the San Francisco Bay, that was for sure. San Francisco wasn't this green and definitely wasn't out in the middle of nowhere like he was now. He just now realized, what with the adrenaline beginning to wear off, that it might be a good idea to call out for help.

"Hey! Hey! I'm out here! I need help! Someone call the Coast Guard!" He shouted as he tread water.

"Umm, it's too far for you to make it to the shore on your own." Another voice said in response.

He looked down and began to realize that someone, or something, was holding on to his waist. The something in question looked to be a green-haired girl. He stared at her, wide-eyed for a moment, and then blinked in surprise, as if he finally registered his situation.

"I didn't knock you in with me, did I?" He asked.

"I don't understand, Sir. But you need to get out of here before you catch a cold!" The Girl answered.

"Hey, hold it jus-"

He tried to say something, but the girl somehow had somehow began pushing him toward the shore, which was still pretty far away, but he could make out tiny figures moving around there. It was then that he finally noticed that the girl who had currently been attached to his waist didn't have legs, but a long, scaly, fish-like tail instead. When his brain finally registered what he was looking at, his eyes widened and he began to scream hysterically.

"What's wrong?! Is there a monster fish nearby?!" The Girl asked, letting go and looking around frantically.

This was just too much for the man, and he promptly went limp in the mermaid's arms.

* * *

Team Nineball sat underneath a tree on the shore of Misty Lake. They had spent the last few days preparing for a picnic that they had planned, and over those two days, all manner of interruptions and distractions had gotten in the way of actually getting to go out and enjoy the lake, which ranged from "Dai forgetting to buy eggs" to "stray danmaku to the head knocking Wriggle out for a day-and-a-half". They had everything ready now, though, and Cirno, their fearless leader, was sure that nothing was going to get in the way of them enjoying the weather. She was in such a good mood that she might even supervise the construction of a raft for the team to explore the lake with!

Cirno turned away from the lake and looked back at her friends, who were currently in the middle of enjoying the fruits of their labor. Wriggle was about halfway through one of the sandwiches that Daiyousei had painstakingly cut the crusts off of, while Mystia and Rumia played rock-paper-scissors for the last of Mystia's grilled lamprey.

"Would you care for another o-nigiri, Cirno-chan?" Daiyousei asked.

She offered one to Cirno, who took it from her without a second thought. Dai's o-nigiri were, according to the strongest fairy in Gensokyo, the best around. She turned around again and took a bite of it. Cirno looked out over the lake, which had been oddly calm today. Nothing seemed to be going on today, and that was both good and bad to Cirno. That was until she noticed some movement coming their way.

"What the..." She muttered.

"What's up, Cirno-chan? See a fish or something out there?" Wriggle asked, her mouth still full of sandwich.

"Maybe? Eye can't really tell. It's too far away." She answered.

She squinted and moved closer to the bank of the lake to get a better look at whatever was coming toward them. It looked like a blob moving toward them, but she couldn't tell too well, even when standing on the beach. Since it was coming this way, Cirno couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"Eye'll be back in a little bit, guys!"

She quickly took off, flying for whatever was coming toward the shore. She didn't fly super close to the surface of the lake since the last time she did, with her almost being eaten by one of the larger fish that live in the lake. As she got closer she saw that it was that mermaid girl who lived in Misty Lake whose name she couldn't remember. It was something super long and confusing. Cirno had never actually met her before, and only knew what she looked like because of the Bunbunmaru on some group she was a part of. There was a part of her that always wanted to meet her, though, and this was as good of an opportunity as any!

"Hey Kawagahime-chan! What happened to that guy?" she asked.

She flew down a little more and poked the man's face in an attempt to wake him up. This didn't work, and after a few more pokes, the mermaid lightly slapped her hand away.

"I-it's Wakasagihime, and I don't know. He kinda just fell into the lake, I think. I was sitting on a rock and then heard a loud splash so I went to investigate. The funny thing is I never saw him falling." Wakasagihime answered.

Wakasagihime looked to have a little trouble pulling the guy, so Cirno decided that she'd help her new friend out by grabbing his legs and matching her speed.

_Boy, this guy is heavy! It's crazy that Waka-chan was able to push him at all! If only Rumia were here, she wouldn't have any trouble with him. Wait, no. She'd probably eat him._

"It's weird that you said he was just falling. Eye mean, how many humans do you know who can fly here?"

"Well, there's... umm... Kirisame-san and Hakurei-sama. He might be an outsider."

"Or... He's a Lunarian secret agent! Eye've seen that rabbit who works for Eintei wear something like what this guy's wearing, like with that thing on his neck!"

"I, uh... I don't think that's correct..."

With the two of them, it didn't take them long to reach the shore, where the rest of Team Nineball had been awaiting the return of their glorious leader. When they figured out why their leader had left them alone, they, along with Cirno, gathered around the unconscious man and studied him.

"Whoa... So you're saying that you found him in the lake? What kind of idiot falls in a lake?" Wriggle asked.

"Maybe he wanted to go for a swim in the lake," Rumia answered. "It's really hot out and if I didn't forget my swimsuit, I'd be in now!"

"In his clothes, Rumia-chan? That doesn't make sense!" Cirno added.

"Maybe he was learning to fly and he didn't know how to land, so he hit the water to crash land?" Mystia offered.

She had finished rifling through his pockets and laying out all his stuff on the beach. He had a small black rectangle, and a small brown square that were wrapped in some sort of clear cover that she'd never seen before. Along with that, he had some kind of knife that folded in on itself that Wriggle and Rumia thought was the coolest thing ever.

"Umm, excuse me, everyone..." Wakasagihime said in a meek tone.

It was clear that Team Ninball had completely forgotten about her and were more engrossed with the things that Mystia had looted from the man.

"Hey, what's all this green paper for?" Cirno asked.

Apparently, she had figured out how to get that clear stuff off of the brown rectangle and had started going through its contents. She handed the rectangle to Daiyousei, who pulled a couple of cards out of it.

"These are some weird spell cards. What's an 'American Express'"? She thought aloud.

"This one's got his picture on it!" Cirno stated.

Team Nineball gathered around their leader so that they could look at it. The picture of the guy looked a bit different, but it was definitely him. In this, he had a mustache compared to now, and wasn't wearing those weird-looking clothes that he was wearing now. The clothes were still definitely weird to them, but this was him.

Cirno squinted and moved the card closer and then further away from here eyes.

"It says Ray... Dobbs? Eye think that's how you read it." Cirno stated.

"Wow, Cirno! I didn't know you could read!" Wriggle said, her voice full of astonishment.

"Heh, Dai-chan taught me! It only took me three years!"

"So cool..."

"Umm, excuse me..." Wakasagihime said again, her voice a little louder now.

"Eye wonder if we'll get a reward for taking him to the Hakurei Shrine! Maybe we can get Reimu to help us prank Marisa!" Cirno said, her voice filled with determination.

"We could eat him," Rumia said. "I'm still kinda hungry..."

"E-excuse me, everyone!" Wakasagihime shouted.

This got the attention of Team Nineball, who all looked quizzically at the mermaid.

"Umm, could one of you please try to wake this guy up, please?" She asked.

She pointed to the guy, who was still very much unconscious.

"Eye'll give it a shot! Eye'm the strongest, so Eye should be able to!" Cirno said.

Before she even tried to start, she went and refilled her cup of tea, and hovered her hand underneath it. Cirno concentrated, and frost began to appear around her hand, with a small layer of frost beginning to form on the bottom of the cup. After a few more minutes of this, small crystals of ice began to form in the cup itself. Cirno dipped her finger into the cup and nodded in confirmation.

"Are you going to-" Wakasagihime began.

"Yep!" Cirno said.

With that, she promptly poured the ice-cold tea onto the man's face.

* * *

"Gah! What the-!"

"Ray Dobbs" reacted to the ice cold water in a way that both Wakasagihime and Team Nineball did not expect. Expecting more ice-cold water, the man reflexively rolled to the left and back into the lake. This sudden shock definitely woke him up, as in just another second, he was standing, eyes wide open. His eyes darted between all of the different creatures that had found him. He was silent for a good amount of time, eyeing each of them fearfully. Eventually Cirno decided to break through the tension that was in the air.

"Hiya Ray, Eye'm Cirno!"

"... How do you know my name?" He asked.

He pointed his finger at her accusingly as he stared down the Ice Fairy. Cirno either didn't notice how angry he was, or she simply chose not to notice.

"Eye found this in that brown thing you had in your pocket!" Cirno answered.

She held up the card that she had read from, which prompted him to squint at her in suspicion.

"... You went through my pockets?" He asked.

He looked down and realized he was still standing in the lake, and quickly removed himself from it, sitting down on a flat enough rock and taking his shoes off to dump out the extra water that had gotten into them.

"Yeah! How else were we supposed to see if you had anything cool on you?" Wriggle asked him, still fiddling with his knife.

"How about... you wake me up and ask me, kid?" Ray retorted.

The members of Team Nineball all, almost simultaneously, looked to be lost in thought. After a moment or so of deliberation, they all spoke up in unison.

"Didn't think'a that!"

Ray sighed in exasperation at the antics of these little kids, and recomposed himself.

"Okay, so how about this? You give me back all of that stuff you stole from me and I don't call the police on you." He threatened.

"What's a 'police'?" Rumia asked.

"Umm, Ray-san?" Wakasagihime interjected.

Ray turned to look at the mermaid, looking her up and down. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

"T-t-t-that tail is real, isn't it?"

He pointed at her, his finger shaking. This reaction caused her to puff out her cheeks, cross her arms, and look away from him.

"Yes. I'm actually a mermaid, and you're very welcome for me saving you from drowning out there on Misty Lake." She said with a huff.

"Uh, thanks. I appreciate it, but..."

Ray looked around at his current location. This place obviously wasn't anywhere in the United States of America, but based on the landscape he guessed he was in... Japan?

"Where am I?" He asked.

"You're in Gensokyo, dummy! What, does the Outside World not know about us?" Cirno answered.

Upon hearing that, Ray's looked at Cirno quizzically. He stepped forward a bit, as if he could hear her better that way.

"Wait, you said... Gensokyo?"

"Yeah, Eye said Gensokyo! What," She repeated, floating up to meet him eye-to-eye. "D'you have water in your ears or somethin'?"

Seeing this, he took a step back and looked at the fairy. He ignored her, staring off into empty space. He ran his hands through his wet hair, his blank stare having changed into a sort of half-smile as he turned around and scanned his surroundings slowly, he began to chuckle.

"I actually do have a bit of water in my ears. Can you repeat that again for me, please?"

He placed his fingers on his left wrist to check his pulse, did the same to his wrist, and then also checked his pulse via his carotid artery just to make sure he wasn't actually dead.

"Cirno-san's right, Ray-san. You're in Gensokyo now. I'm not an expert on how outsiders come here, but I know someone who is. There are a few other problems in getting to them, though." Wakasagihime said.

"I'm sorry, I'm still a little shaken up from my... uh... predicament that led me here, apparently," He replied. He sat back down on the shore and looked out at the lake that had broken his fall. "I need a minute if you all please. I don't know if you'll listen to me, but I'd really like all of my stuff back. If it comes down to it, we can work out a trade or something."

"What?! No! Finders keepers!" Rumia protested, clutching the knife (that she'd folded so as not to stab herself) to her chest.

"Look, kid," Ray said, as he turned around on the shore to face Team Nineball again. "I can't keep calling you that. What's your name?"

"I'm Rumia, the darkness youkai!" She said.

He finally noticed that this "Rumia" was making sure to stand in the shade of the tree that they were picnicking under. There must have been a reason, but an explanation would have to wait.

"Okay, Rumia The Darkness Youkai, Wakaflakahime over here-" Ray started.

"It's Wakasagihime." Wakasagihime interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry. Waka-," He shook his head and placed a hand on his forehead. "I'm not saying that every time. You're Waka-sama from now on, okay?" He finished, his finger pointed at Wakasagihime.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-waka-sama?!" She stammered out.

Wakasagihime's face went red and she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, we're in Japan apparently, you saved my life, and so now you're Waka-sama."

This must've embarrassed the mermaid, because in the time that he blinked and turned around, she had disappeared under the water.

"... Okay, so do you, uhh, know who it was she was talking about?" He asked Team Nineball.

"Yeah! Waka-sama was talking about Hakurei-sama, the Hakurei Miko!" Daiyousei answered energetically.

"Maybe she'll be grateful for bringing Ray-san to her!" Wriggle added.

"Yeah, maybe we can get her to help us prank Marisa-chan!" Mystia also added.

"Let's go, Team Nineball! Next stop; Hakurei Shrine!" Cirno ordered.

"Yeaaaah!" They all cheered in unison.

They all started flying along the shore of the lake, seemingly all-in on taking Ray to some shrine. Ray checked the small of his back and felt his assurance still there. He sighed in relief in knowing that he wasn't unarmed in what could be a hostile environment. With that, he started walking along the shoreline.

* * *

Reimu Hakurei, the sole miko of Hakurei Shrine sat on the porch of her living quarters. On the little table that sat next to her there was a teapot that steamed with hot tea. The miko sat and enjoyed just how quiet today had been. It seemed like every other day, especially during the Summer, that there had to be some small incident. For the first time in what felt like forever, she could sit on her porch and enjoy some peace and quiet.

She took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes. She listened to the birds singing, the wind blowing, the faint sounds of a commotion slowly getting closer to her shrine...

 _It couldn't even last a whole day, could it?_ She thought as she placed her cup on the small table.

She opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the commotion. Over the treetops, that dumb ice fairy and her gang of idiots flew over the treetops with each of them holding on to the limb of some poor human. She sighed in exasperation and stood up, stretching a bit before she walked down to meet the descending Team Nineball. Rumia wasn't with them. Reimu guessed that she must have gotten lost on the way here. That tends to happen when you can't see where you're flying. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the gang of idiots as they helped the man land.

"Hey, Reimu-sama! We found an outsider!" Cirno stated.

"That's obvious, Cirno-san. Exactly where did you find him?" Reimu asked.

"He fell outta the sky at Misty Lake! Waka-sama brought him to the shore and he said we could keep his knife if we could think of an easy way to get to you!"

"Yeah! His knife is super cool!" Wriggle added.

"Y'know, I didn't think that 'picking me up and flying me there' was what I expected you to do. Or maybe I should've expected that. I don't even know anymore." Ray said.

"You asked them to help you, and so they helped you. You're lucky that they didn't kill you. Either way, what's your name and what do you remember before you came here?" Reimu asked.

"Uhh yeah. Name's Ray Dobbs. Pleasure to meet ya."

"Reimu Hakurei, miko of Hakurei Shrine and the Hakurei Barrier"

He extended his hand for her to shake, and she followed through with it. He was surprised at just how strong this young girl's grip was. She couldn't have been more than eighteen at the oldest.

"Yeah, I uhh... don't know how I got here. I slipped off a bridge and fell into the lake. Uhh, Waka-sama must've thought I was gonna drown so she got me to the shore." He said.

He felt something hit him on the top of his head, and when he looked toward the attacker, he saw that it was Reimu, who held a stick with long white ribbons coming off of it.

"What was that for?!" He shouted as he rubbed the spot where she bonked him.

"You're lying." She replied.

"What?"

"I can see it in your eyes. You're lying. What actually happened?"

He looked around, before closing his eyes and staying silent for a few moments. Eventually, he sighed and looked back at Reimu.

"Okay okay, I tried to commit suicide. There. It's all out in the open. Part of why I tried to do it is because of this place existing, apparently."

Reimu felt something wrong in the air. It was a feeling that she experienced from time to time when an unwelcome visitor shows themselves, which usually meant that she had her hand in this.

"Oh, is that so, Mister Dobbs?" An unknown voice asked.

Reimu sighed and looked up behind Ray, who, curious of what the miko was looking at, turned around to see who was the owner of said voice. The woman in question was blonde and he guessed in her mid-to-late twenties, and was wearing the weirdest clothing that Ray had ever seen. As she descended from the hole in reality that she had came through, he saw that it had an infinitesimal amount of eyes within. Just looking at the gap in space made him confused and scared. The woman lowered herself down, a parasol protecting her from the sun's rays. When she finally touched the ground, she began to walk over to the two of them.

Ray looked around to see where those fairies had gone, but when he saw them hiding behind a tree, trembling at the appearance of this woman.

"Tell me why you spirited him away, Yukari-san." Reimu demanded, her tone stern as she glared at her.

"Hmm, oh my, my dear Reimu, I'm afraid that I honestly have no idea why I chose to save such a scruffy-looking human such as Mister Dobbs here," Yukari replied. She walked closer to Ray, who didn't move or attempt to stop her. He didn't know if it was curiosity or fear that kept him from moving, but when she got close, close enough where he could feel her breathing on him, she finally spoke again. "Why not ask Mister Dobbs here why I spirited him away? I'm sure a man as smart as him would be able to figure it out."

"It's because an outsider like me wasn't supposed to know about Gensokyo, right?" Ray asked.

That had to have been the correct answer, because that got this "Yukari" nodding along to him speaking. In a second, she grabbed hold of Ray's tie and pulled him closer to her again, as he instinctively pulled away from her. He had to admit that she had very beautiful eyes.

"Correct, Mister Dobbs. An outsider, especially an outsider from the other side of the planet of all places, shouldn't know about Gensokyo. It shouldn't even register in your mind that a place such as this should even exist. Now if you don't mind me asking," She tugged on his tie again. "And I expect that you don't, how did you discover the existence of our beautiful land?"

Ray wasn't in any position to argue with this woman, if that was how she could be described. This "woman" was more of a monster than anything else, but his hands were tied.

"Alright, I'm not gonna argue with you, but how about we all sit down and we can talk about this over something to drink? I'm a little parched after, y'know, almost dying and being carried like a parcel."

* * *

The trio found themselves in Reimu's small home on the premises of the shrine. All of them sat around the table drinking tea and waiting for Ray to collect his thoughts. Team Nineball apparently had disappeared, albeit only with his knife.

With a contented sigh and a smile on his face, Ray set his cup down and began to speak.

"So I found these documents online, and-" He started, before he was so rudely interrupted by Reimu.

"What do you mean 'on line'? What does he mean, Yukari?" She asked.

"Darling, it's all over your head, but he found it somewhere it shouldn't be." Yukari answered.

"So anyway, I found them online, on a whistleblower onion site I frequent on the deep web. I'm assuming since you were nearby when you heard my tirade when I decided to jump that you frequently visit the 'Outside World'?" Ray asked the youkai.

"Why yes, I do. How else would I keep tabs on you silly outsiders? Many of the things that you do still affect us in ways that you just couldn't possibly comprehend without weeks, possibly months, of conversation and lecturing." Yukari answered.

"Okay then. So you wanted to know how I found out about Gensokyo? That was how I found out. Someone leaked it, most likely from the Japanese government and that was how I found out about this place, even though I still had no idea how to get here, who leaked it, or even how it got on to that specific onion site."

"Then why did you even believe any of it?" Reimu asked him.

"Because this document had three different signatures in Japanese. The Emperor at the time, the Prime Minister at the time, and," He looked Yukari in the eye. "One Yukari Yakumo. There were also a photograph taken with you, multiple Shinto monks, and the PM and Emperor."

"My, my, Mister Dobbs. You've certainly done a fair amount of looking into things that you shouldn't have. At the time, I thought that taking the photograph was a mistake, but the Emperor insisted, and I respected him well enough to oblige."

Yukari held up a fan in front of her face, concealing her grin from view.

"It comes with the territory. The truth should always come to light, no matter the cost. The cost _this_ time just happened to be almost everything." He said.

His expression hardened, but Reimu could still see that beneath it he was hiding some emotions from them, but she didn't want to pry. He was telling the truth.

"He sounds like a certain troublesome Tengu we both know, doesn't he, Reimu?" Yukari asked.

"That he does, Yukari-san." Reimu answered.

He looked at one of them and then the other, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth slightly open. Both of the ladies here noticed and laughed about it.

"You'll meet her soon enough. I can guarantee that to you." Yukari said.

She took another sip of her tea, and then her gaze met his. Ray visibly shifted as she stared him down. After a moment, she spoke again.

"Now Mister Dobbs, usually outsiders such as yourself are given a choice of whether to leave Gensokyo or stay. Most outsiders will simply remember it as something akin to a dream, as I will transport them back to their homes. Those that don't simply won't be believed by the average outsider."

"Yukari-san... What are-" Reimu started.

Yukari raised her hand, and Reimu ceased to speak. Reimu's gaze had softened considerably over the last few moments, and this reaction sent a shiver down Ray's spine. His hands began to shake under the table and a cold sweat started to form on his brow.

"Reimu, hush. I understand that you're normally the one who tells outsiders the procedures for dealing with them, but this one here is a special case."

"W-what do you mean I'm a 'special case'? Don't you guys deal with us outsiders on a regular basis? You've got procedure after all." Ray said, his voice having raised slightly in octave.

"You're different. You aren't from Japan," Yukari raised her index finger. "You didn't come across the border of your own volition, and I didn't spirit you away because I wanted to be benevolent," She raised her middle finger. "And you know too much for me to simply let you leave here." She raised her ring finger.

"Can't you just like, make me forget with your youkai powers or something?"

Yukari closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Sadly, Mister Dobbs, I lack such a power. Many outsiders don't have much of a presence here due to the general secularism of the Outside World, but you're also very different from them," Yukari leaned forward, her hands on the table. "You believe in ghosts, don't you? In creatures of the dark? In the things that go bump in the night?"

Ray nodded his head.

"You could say that, yes."

Ray took another sip of his tea, took a deep breath, and his hands stopped shaking. Whatever was in this tea was definitely a lifesaver.

"So you're telling me that I'm stuck here now, is that right?" He asked.

"Yes, Mister Dobbs. You're not going to be able to leave Gensokyo." Yukari answered.

He took another sip of his tea, breathed in deeply again, closed his eyes, and then opened them just as fast. He now had a small smirk on his face.

"Okay then."He said.

"O-okay then? Usually, you outsiders have some sort of nervous breakdown when you realize you can't visit the Outside World again." Reimu responded.

"I mean that is definitely a downer," Ray chugged his tea, placed the cup on the table, and then stood up. "But it's not like I have a choice in the matter, and you know, I really have to thank you, Yakumo-sama."

Yukari's eyes widened and her mouth changed into something similar to a slight sneer.

"Y-yakumo... Sama?"

"You must understand how much I owe you," He got down on his knees and grasped her hand, which elicited a small noise from the gap youkai. "You kept me from making one of the worst mistakes of my life, and I don't know what I can do to repay you."

Reimu couldn't hold back at this point. A small giggle escaped her lips as she covered her mouth to hide her smile from Yukari, who glared at her with an intensity of a thousand suns.

"Y-yes, you do owe me! You owe me your life, and you should make the most of the second chance that I've given you! Many humans don't have a chance such as this happen more than maybe once in their whole lifetime!" Yukari said.

She looked away to hide the redness that had begun to form on her face.

"I never knew that the great Yukari Yakumo could get flustered!" Reimu mocked.

The shrine maiden had lost any composure that she might have had at this point, having devolved into a fit of laughter. She fell back on her matted floor as tears began to form from just how much she had been drawn to laughter.

"I-I believe that Ran and Chen need me for something! Reimu, you are to help him acclimate to Gensokyo for now!"

Before the shrine maiden could protest, Yukari, without even standing up, fell through a hole in the floor and was gone. Ray and Reimu were left in her little home, with Ray's eyes moving from where Yukari was to where Reimu was sitting. He pointed at the spot and blinked a few times in disbelief, and then his gaze focused on Reimu.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that." He said.

Reimu sighed in defeat, and then took another sip of her tea.

_Why is it always something with this place?_


	2. Make Friends, Make Rivals

**I have updated once more! I'm going to let you know that even though I am able to get these out rather quickly, please don't expect it to be frequent. I plan on getting them out as fast as I can, and I don't plan on churning out Imperfect Metamorphosis-length chapters. I'm going to shoot for at least 5,000 words each chapter, and some may be longer or shorter than that, depending on whether or not I think that I am at a good stopping point for that chapter. Chapters may also change a bit if I think I can do something more to them, as well. If that is to happen, I'll let it be known here in the author's notes!**

**Just like last time, if you see any issues worth pointing out to me let me know!**

**This would've been out sooner, but I recently came down with the flu after almost a decade of not having it, so it kind of kicked my ass.**

* * *

The morning sun shone through the windows of Reimu's home. As it began to illuminate the main room, the two futons, both of which had been laid out on the opposite sides of the room, began to stir as their occupants were awoken by the invading light.

"Come on, Sarge... Juzgimme me five more minutes... I wuzzon watch last night..." Ray mumbled.

He pulled the futon's blanket over his head to hide from the dawn, but in the end, it wasn't the sun that made him wake up. He felt something prod him in the side. When that didn't seem to get the message, he felt the blanket be torn away from him.

"Wake up." Reimu said.

Her voice was just as groggy as his, and after pulling the blanket off of him, she left and went into the nearby room. Ray stood up and stretched. He looked around the empty room that he slept in. Aside from Reimu's futon, the small table that was moved to the corner, and some stuff on the walls, the room was bare.

He usually got started on his morning routine at this time, but with all of the things that had happened within the last thirty-six or so hours, he wasn't in any mood to do any exercises right now. He walked around the room and looked at some of the stuff that Reimu had hung up on the walls. A lot of it was what he thought was normal for a shrine maiden. His gaze fell on one of the shelves, where there sat a few framed photos. The photos were monochrome, and the frames made of bamboo, but the photos didn't look old.

In the first one, he saw what he guessed was Reimu standing next to some girl who was just slightly shorter than her, in a pointy hat, who was holding a broom. Strangely enough, he noticed someone in the background who had seemingly been lounging on her roof. It was a girl who looked obviously younger, but with what looked like horns or something protruding from her head. The other one had Reimu when she was much younger in it. There was a woman dressed in what he would have said was a more conservative version of what Reimu wore, but also a lot less customised. He couldn't make out her face, since the light was obscuring it. Just when he made to pick it up, he heard Reimu shout at him from the other room.

"Hey! If you want to eat you'd better help me in here!"

"I'll be there in a second!" He shouted back.

He hastily threw the t-shirt that he wore under his suit shirt on and headed into the adjoining kitchen. When he stepped foot in said kitchen, his jaw dropped at the state of Reimu's kitchen. The kitchen was so... "Sad and empty" were the first words that he could use to describe it. The kitchen was somewhat smaller than the one at his old home, but almost every shelf that he could see had _nothing_ on it, at all. All of the ingredients that he saw in this kitchen were where Reimu was standing. She was preparing what looked to be a very meager breakfast of rice and miso soup. He looked around for anything that he would have needed to prepare and found nothing else near the workstation. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at Reimu, who wasn't paying any attention to him.

"So what do you need my help with? It uh... looks like you have it under control."

"Go and get the dishes from over there," She pointed to her right without even looking up. "And then set them up here so we can get breakfast plated."

Her tone sounded both stern and annoyed at the same time, and Ray took note of that, but he still went and got the dishes from the cupboard on Reimu's right side and set them out for her. He stood around for a moment or two before he just sighed and grabbed the jar of miso from Reimu's workstation.

"What are you doing?! Give that back!" She demanded.

"I know how to make miso soup, just because I'm a foreigner _and_ an outsider doesn't mean I'm useless here. Pass me the pot, please." He replied.

The two continued to work in silence for some time, the tension having been made thicker and thicker by Reimu and Ray's willingness to just not talk. That was, until Reimu decided to cut through the tension.

"How do you know how to make miso soup, if I might ask? Foreigners don't seem to know much in general about Japanese... Well, anything when they arrive here."

"I had an associate in Tokyo I'd visit occasionally, and his wife would only let me stay with them if I helped out around the house."

"Oh. That makes sense. Wait, why would a foreigner be visiting Tokyo?"

"With me, it was mostly for getting direct news about China and the like. That, and I was damn sure that I could find a tsuchinoko if I looked hard enough."

The latter elicited a snicker out of the shrine maiden, which brought a slight smile to Ray's face.

"You'll probably have better luck here than in the Outside World. I can't tell you if I've ever seen one, but they'd probably be here."

"Good to know."

By the end of their preparations, they were both smiling wryly when they set out their breakfast on the little table in the main room. They sat and talked a bit about this and that.

"So, since I'm new to Gensokyo, is there anything important I should know?" Ray asked. He took a sip of his soup and then had some rice.

"Oh, there's a lot of things you need to know." Reimu answered.

"Like what?"

"Well," She took a sip of her tea. "The first thing you need to know is that until you're living in the Human Village, you're not safe from any youkai. You look like and sound like an outsider, so they'll know right away."

"So... am I in danger here then?"

He looked around at the windows, just in case he saw someone staring at him. Reimu chuckled at his reaction and shook her head.

"No, no. You can stay here as long as you need to."

He raised an eyebrow at this, then took a sip of his own tea.

"Thanks I guess. Is there any reason why? Yesterday you didn't look particularly thrilled at having someone else here."

"I think it's a good way to show my thanks for getting Yukari flustered like that. I've never seen a human do that to her, ever. You made my day with that, and I think the least I could do is show you a bit of gratitude."

"... Okay then. Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth and all that." Ray said, looking away from Reimu.

This went on for quite some time, as the two sat in silence and ate their breakfasts, and by the time that they were finished, someone threw open the door to Reimu's home. Without even looking in her direction, Reimu picked up her cup of tea and took a sip of it, having closed her eyes as she savored the flavor of the tea.

"Yo Reimu! I heard you've got another roommate now, da-ze!"

Ray looked over and saw that the person that stood in the doorway was from one of the photographs. It was the girl with the pointy hat and the broom. He looked her up and down, and she looked him up and down. She then leaned her broom against a nearby shelf, walked in, sat down, and rested her chin in her hands, a smirk on her lips and a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"So who's this, Reimu? I thought you said you weren't going to let anyone else move in!" The girl teased.

"Marisa, this is Ray Dobbs. He's the newest outsider that Yukari brought here." Reimu explained, not even having opened her eyes to meet this "Marisa"s gaze.

"Morning, Marisa-san. Like she said." He held out his hand for her to shake it. "Ray Dobbs, former freelance journalist, P.I., and many other things. it's a pleasure to meet you."

She grabbed his hand and finished the handshake. This girl's grip was pretty strong too, but he was sure it wasn't as strong as Reimu's. Probably.

"Marisa Kirisame, ordinary magician and treasure hunter extraordinaire. Nice to finally meetcha, Ray-san!"

"Finally?"

Reimu and Ray asked this at the same time, and then looked at each one another, then looked back at Marisa.

"Yeah, your arrival is in the Bunbunmaru, da-ze!" Marisa answered.

She placed a bound newspaper on the table in front of the two. Reimu picked it up, unfurled it and began to read it silently, her lips moving slightly as she mouthed the words. Marisa watched her, her hands covering her mouth as small snickers could be heard escaping her. As she got to a certain portion, a blush spread across her face and she began to shake in what Ray guessed was barely-suppressed anger.

"Uhh... Are you alright there, Reimu-san?" Ray asked.

Reimu placed the newspaper on the floor next to her, and resumed drinking her tea. Her face was still red, and she simply refused to acknowledge the existence of both Ray and Marisa, simply keeping her eyes closed.

"Just what did this person write, anyway?" He asked as he picked up the newspaper.

He began to read it himself. He was apparently worthy of a front page news story. If it weren't for the circumstances that brought him to this illustrious honor, he would have been rather thrilled.

"Gensokyo's Newest Outsider and the Hakurei Shrine Maiden... Forbidden Love?" He read aloud.

His lips formed into a sneer and his brow furrowed as he read, and what he read was definitely not what actually happened when he met Yukari and Reimu yesterday. After poring over the rest of the newspaper and placing it back on the table, he chuckled a little bit.

"Marisa-san." He stated, his eyes having looked in her direction.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Who wrote this schlock?"

"Aya Shameimaru is the one who wrote it, Ray-san." Reimu interjected.

She stood up and walked over to one of the closets. She opened it and retrieved a red bow from it. She pushed her hair up and tied it back using the bow.

"Marisa, If you would be so kind, could you please show Ray-san around the Human Village?" Reimu asked.

Reimu stepped over to the door and picked up the stick. Out of nowhere, two floating orbs, emblazoned with the yin-yang symbol, appeared over her shoulders. She didn't even stop to close the door as she took flight and flew toward a large mountain that was off in the distance.

"Ooooooh, Aya-san's in trouble, ze!" Marisa said through barely-contained laughter.

Ray looked toward the direction the shrine maiden disappeared at and then at the witch.

"I'm guessing an angry Reimu is bad news for youkai?" Ray asked.

Marisa looked at him, a smile on her face.

"An angry Reimu is bad for anyone," She stood up and grabbed her broom. "But that's not our problem right now!" She mounted the broom and motioned to it.

"Alright, get on! Reimu wanted me to show ya around Gensokyo, and that's what we're gonna do!"

Ray inhaled sharply at Marisa's suggestion of travel. He looked at her, then at the broom, then back at her again. He slumped his shoulders and sighed.

"Alright, let me get my shoes on."

* * *

Rinnosuke Morichika sat in his shop, thumbing through a magazine that he had found. Like usual he had his store's door open, and like usual no one was visiting his store. He let out a sigh and cooled himself with a fan. Compared to when he first opened his store, he wasn't as dejected as back then about the lack of customers. At some point, he had grown to expect the occasional kappa or for Marisa to come and "borrow" something of his. In fact, if he concentrated hard enough he could almost hear her flying toward Kourindou to look through his newest selection of wares.

"Hey, calm down! We're almost there, ze!"

He looked up from his magazine in utter confusion. He stood up and leaned out of the doorway to see what was the matter and sure enough, Marisa Kirisame was coming in for a landing. What _was_ out of the ordinary this time was that she had a passenger, and he wasn't wearing anything that looked normal for Gensokyo. Rinnosuke knew just by looking at him that the man was an outsider.

He waved at Marisa and the stranger, which elicited a wave back from Marisa, the stranger still preoccupied with his white-knuckle grip on Marisa's broom and praying to whatever gods he worshipped.

"Hey, Marisa-chan!" He shouted.

"Hey, Kourin! Ya got some time to talk to the newest outsider?!" She shouted back, a grin plastered on her mug.

She already knew the answer to that. "Kourin", as Marisa had called him when she was much younger, always enjoyed talking to any outsiders that survived long enough to meet him.

 _Maybe he can help me with the uses of some of these new items..._ He thought as he watched the duo land nearby. The man, who was more than just an outsider, but also an obvious foreigner, shakily stepped off of the broom and fell to his hands and knees, taking short, shallow, anxious breaths. His forehead glistened with sweat in the summer sun. As he stood back up, his hands shook just like his legs were. Kourin stepped over to the man and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it slightly.

"Come in, get some tea, and sit down for a while, friend. We'll get you used to flying yet." Kourin said, in as sincere of a voice as he could muster.

"What do you mean, 'used to'?!" The man asked. "Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick!"

The man bolted away from the two and fell into some nearby bushes, where they heard the man retching for a moment or two before he stood back up, using the tree to help him stand. Kourin leaned in closer to Marisa, who looked at the man with her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth slightly agape.

"Marisa-chan, just how fast did you fly here?" He asked.

"Not fast enough to make anyone do that." She answered.

Kourin rolled his eyes. He knew how it felt to fly with Marisa. To her, "not fast enough" was very subjective. He thought back to the first time he flew with her when she had just learned how, and how he was happy to have survived it, since the tree that they'd slammed into didn't fare as well.

"Maybe he's afraid of heights or something?"

"If he were, why'd he get on my broom, ze?"

"You both know that I can still hear you, right?!" The man asked, his tone exasperated and his voice raised.

The man leaned against the tree for a few more moments, kicked some dirt into the bushes, and then decided that he had composed himself enough to finally rejoin Marisa and Kourin near the storefront.

"Okay! Okay, okay. Sorry you had to see that, Sir," The man extended his hand for Kourin to shake. "Ray Dobbs. Outsider, journalist, former P.I., and pansy who can't handle flying with Little Witch Stig over here," He pointed his thumb in Marisa's direction."It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kourin shook his hand and nodded.

"Rinnosuke Morichika. Kourin to my friends. I'm the proprietor of this store."

Kourin pointed to the store behind them, using his thumb the same way Ray did. Ray looked at the front of the store. His gaze moved from one strange object to another. Some of the stuff in front of the store was just completely out of production, even by third-world standards.

"Do you run a thrift store or something?" Ray asked Kourin. Kourin looked at him like he had just spoken to him in another language that didn't translate. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked between the store and the outsider.

"What does 'thrift' mean, Ray-san? Is that an Outside World term? Kourindou is an antique store, if that's what you mean." Kourin answered.

"They're more or less the same thing, just that 'thrift' is trendier for the kids," Ray ran a hand through his hair and looked into the door of Kourindou. "So you said something about tea?"

"Yes, I did. Please follow me." Kourin answered.

The two did follow him. As Ray looked around the store, he took notice of just how many items that Kourin had in stock. The man had such an eclectic stock that Ray wondered just where he got all of this stuff from. Kourin produced a few tall stools from his side of the counter and set them in front of the counter.

"Give me just a moment and I'll have some tea ready. Please make yourselves at home until I return." Kourin said with a slight bow, then he walked through a door on his side of the counter and was out of sight.

Marisa, who waited just a second to make sure that Kourin was preoccupied making tea, walked around to look at the "recent finds" section of the store. Ray, not really knowing what to do, followed her. The "recent finds" section, which was noted by a sign that was hanging from the ceiling in front of the shelves that it indicated. Marisa was looking at the items in a frenzy. Her gaze focused on something and she began to inspect it, picking it up and examining it from multiple angles. Eventually, she presented it to Ray.

"D'you know what this is, Ray-san?"

He accepted the object and looked it over. It was some sort of metal can. The can was coated in an olive drab paint and had large, blocky black lettering on it that read "Property of U.S. Army". The top of the can had a threaded end, so it must have belonged to something that it attached itself to. He held the can-like object closer to his eye and attempted to angle it so he could see down it. He thought he saw some sort of seal in it, and so decided to take a guess as to what it was.

"I think this belongs to a... Gas mask, I'd wager?" He stated.

"What's a gas mask?" She asked. She cocked her head to the side slightly, one of her eyebrows raised.

"You serious?" He replied.

Marisa pouted at him, her hands on her hips in and her brow furrowed at Ray's reaction to her question.

"I'll take that as a 'no', then," He said. He held up the can so he could inspect it more in better lighting. "A gas mask is used to keep a person from breathing in bad stuff like toxins and uhh... spores and other contaminants in the air. This little can would go on it and filter out the air and make it safe to breathe."

Marisa chuckled at his explanation, and then pulled something out from underneath her hat. She held it out for Ray to look at. It looked like a miniature wooden cage that also had a small yin yang symbol emblazoned on what he guessed would have been the top of the device.

"Sounds similar to this then, ze. It's kinda like my mini-hakkero." Marisa stated.

Ray inspected the thing for a moment, trying to figure out how it actually could be similar to a gas mask. Eventually, after a few moments of him having carefully inspected the object, his brow furrowed and his hand on his chin in a pondering gesture, he looked back at Marisa, who had a grin on her face from having witnessed the man be stumped.

"Okay, how does that," he pointed at the little cage-like object. "Work like a gas mask?"

Marisa shrugged her shoulders slightly at that, which elicited a raised eyebrow from Ray.

"Dunno. Kourin made it for me after I left home," Marisa said, as she looked at the mini-hakkero affectionately. "I can do all sorts of things with it, and Kourin said it could help me in the Forest of Magic."

"It's a multifunctional item that has a multitude of uses. One of them is as an air purifier." Kourin's voice could be heard from around the shelf that blocked the counter from view. Marisa motioned back to the counter, as if to say "let's go back", which Ray nodded in response to. When they returned to the counter, there were rice crackers and tea waiting for them, with Kourin having already started on his share. When the trio had finally gotten settled, Kourin leaned on the counter and looked at Ray.

"So, Ray-san," Kourin took a sip of his tea. "Pardon my inquisitive nature, but where did you come from?"

"I'm from this place called 'America', specifically from the part of it called Vermont," Ray said. He took a bite of a rice cracker, and then took a sip of his tea. "There's not much to say about the place. It's just a really quiet state in general."

"I bet Reimu would love it there then, Ze! No incidents, no youkai, no Yukari..." Marisa added.

"There's all sorts of other problems that I'd say are worse, I think." Ray replied.

"Like what?" Kourin asked.

"Well," Ray took a long swig of his tea, and then took a deep breath. "There's taxes, having to get around without flying, having to do some awful job if you didn't get lucky like me, and how the world is overall just not very enjoyable in general. I have to give the Outside World a few things, like air conditioning, electricity, and I'm sure I'm going to miss the Internet, but other than that I get living here will be loads less stressful than the Outside."

"What about any people? I'm sure there's _someone_ you'll miss out there." Marisa asked.

"Oh sure there are," He held up three fingers. "I'll miss my uncle and his two kids. After my parents passed, they were my saviors. Other than that, nope. Won't miss any associates, any coworkers, and how they can't keep their political opinions out of their work. D'you know how easy it is to not spin every news story or article? It's really easy."

"Sounds like we have another journalist in Gensokyo now, doesn't it, Marisa-chan?" Kourin asked. He looked over at Marisa, who smiled at him and nodded in response.

"Yeah, I heard from Reimu and Yukari. They said I'll meet her eventually. I've definitely got more than a few words for her when we _do_ meet."

"And just what words would you have for me, outsider?" Asked an unknown voice.

The voice was femenine and it came from outside of Kourindou. A moment later, and the voice's owner revealed herself. To Ray, this girl looked kind of similar to some of the other non-humans that he had met already. He put two and two together that she was one of those youkai just from the fact that her ears were pointed. Along with that, his eyes were drawn to the bright red, weird-looking hat that he would have likened to being similar to a yamaka, albeit much more angular and large. He wondered if those tassels that were hanging off of it ever got in her eyes while she flew. She probably flew like everyone else here did.

As she walked in and out of the summer sun, he could get a better look at her. He saw the camera hanging off of her neck, and the orange armband that he would have likened to a press pass if he were outside again. He had to admit that she was pretty, but that had been a common thing here with every woman that he had so far met. Her hair suited her, but he would have recommended that she grow it out a little more, personally. She dressed well, albeit he wondered if a skirt was well suited for flying, especially if you got to higher altitudes where it got colder. Finally, his gaze reached her shoes, where he had to stifle a snicker when he saw just how much they modified her height. Quickly, he made eye contact again, and then stood up. With the shoes, she almost met his eyes without having to look up, but he was sure without them he'd be a head or so taller than her.

"You're the one who wrote that article, didn't you?" He asked.

"Why yes, I did," The bird-woman exclaimed. She reached out to shake his hand, which he obliged. "Aya Shameimaru, Gensokyo's fastest flyer, and its most accomplished journalist, at your service."

"Ray Dobbs, former marine, private investigator, and journalist. Pleasure to meet you, Shameimaru-san." Ray replied.

"No, no. The pleasure's mine, Dobbs-san."

"No, Shameimaru-san, the pleasure's both of ours. I do have a few words for you."

Ray motioned to his stool, bowing slightly like he were Aya's butler. He had a small smile on his face. This garnered a raised eyebrow from Aya. She knew what he was implying, and so she took the seat he offered. Kourin had already placed another cup on to the counter, and filled it with tea before she even had noticed.

"I've gotta say that the article you published couldn't be further from the truth, and I really think that you should put another article in the paper that sets the record straight. I'll even work with you right now to correct the record."

Aya crossed her legs and leaned forward just a little bit, her eyebrow still raised. She picked up the tea and took a sip. "Thank you, Morichaka-san. Like always, your tea is phenomenal and almost as delicious as Reimu-san's."

"You're quite welcome, Shameimaru-san." He replied, a smile on his face.

After a few moments, Aya produced a notepad and pen from somewhere. Ray didn't see where she produced it from, and he didn't really have the time to think about it. He'll think about it later, when things weren't as tense.

"So, Dobbs-san-." Aya started.

"Oh, you can call me Ray." Ray interrupted.

"Er," She looked away for just a moment before composing herself once more. "... _Ray-san_. You're the newest outsider that has come to our land, and I would like to know why you chose to stay with the Hakurei Shrine maiden? That's never happened in her time as the Hakurei miko."

"Well, I was essentially carried there by a 'Team Nineball' after Wakasagihime pulled me out of some lake. I asked them for directions and according to her, I was lucky to not be eaten. I was pretty drained, and Hakurei-san said I could stay there until I was able to find a home, since I also got Yakumo-sama flustered and she'd never seen that before." Ray explained.

"And did you-"

" _Nothing. Happened._ " He stated, slowly and clearly. He emphasized the words to such a degree that he leaned in a little when he said them.

"Fine, fine, fine. Nothing happened. I understand," She quickly wrote some things down again and then looked back up at him. She studied his features, looking to see if his body language was portraying that he was nervous or anxious. He wasn't at all, and that was a surprise to her.

The two continued to converse, with Aya asking him all manner of questions about himself, along with follow-up questions related to those. Eventually, their tea went from lukewarm to cold, and they ran out of rice crackers.

"Well, you're one of the first outsiders whose been incredibly forthcoming with information, Ray-san. Most of them are very... guarded, which leaves many of them in a very enigmatic position to many of our readers." Aya explained.

"I'm guessing that's a bad thing?" Ray asked.

"Well, it's only really bad if they refuse to become a part of the Human Village," She readied her pen again. "Speaking of the Village, when you join it, what would be your preferred profession to take up if possible?"

Ray stroked his chin and looked up at the ceiling as the thought for a few moments.

"I think I may start a news publication, if I can get ahold of the materials. If not, I'd probably open up a detective agency." Ray answered.

"Mhmm, mhmm. A detective's agency? Intriguing," Aya closed her notepad, stored her pen within the coils of the pad, and then stored it somewhere behind her. After that, she reached for her camera and quickly took a picture of Ray, not giving him a chance to not get his photogenic face on.

"Damn, girl! Give a man a warning when you're gonna take his picture!" He exclaimed as he rubbed his eyes.

"The best photographs are taken when the target of the photograph isn't ready for them." Aya replied.

"Yeah, I guess."

Aya let her camera hang loose around her neck once more, she bowed to Marisa and Kourin, and then stepped back out into the afternoon sun.

"Well, Ray-san, it's been a pleasure speaking to you today, and I'll make sure that you get a copy of the next edition of the Bunbunmaru personally."

Aya looked up to the sky, and then, without even saying goodbye, she was gone in a flash, only leaving behind a few feathers that lazily floated to the ground.

"Aya Shameimaru! Get back here!" Reimu's voice thundered from outside Kourindou.

An explosion shook Kourindou, spilling his tea and knocking a few things off of the shelves. Ray, wanting to know what was going on, stormed outside and scanned the horizon. What he saw caused his jaw to drop. In the sky, it looked like there was a fireworks display going on, if he had to describe it to someone in his own words. A moment later, both Marisa and Kourin joined him outside.

"Who do you think will win? I'm thinking Reimu-san will." Kourin said.

"Yeah, I'm putting it on Reimu on this one." Marisa agreed.

"Okay you two, what in the hell is," Ray pointed up to whatever was happening above them. "All of this?!"

Both Kourin and Marisa looked at him, eyebrows raised. After a moment, they looked at each other and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Ray asked.

"Has Reimu not told you about spell card battles?" Marisa asked.

Ray shook his head slowly, his eyes occasionally being drawn back to the battle that took place above them.

"Well, that's what's happening above us right now, da ze!" Marisa exclaimed.

"That still doesn't explain anything!" Ray retorted.

"I'll take care of this, Marisa-chan." Kourin said. He stepped forward and put his arm around Ray's shoulder pointed up at the battle.

"When Reimu-san became the shrine maiden, she created a system to ensure that problems can be solved without a large amount of bloodshed, which is how spell card duels became commonplace in Gensokyo. You make them yourself and use them in these battles here. Most likely that's what happened with Aya-san and Reimu-san." Kourin explained.

"Uhh, okay then. I mean I get it but at the same time I don't." Ray replied with a slight shrug.

In just a few moments, the "spell card duel" was over, and Reimu and Aya descended from the cloud of smoke they'd made, with Aya looking much worse for wear than before.

"This is nothing more than an attack on the press!" Aya shouted.

"Stop spreading lies about me and I'll stop. How many times does this make?" Reimu asked.

Aya grumbled under her breath, and then took off into the sky once more.

"I will not be silenced!" She shouted.

She flew off toward that mountain in the distance, and Ray was left wondering what it was he had just witnessed.


	3. Ray's Bizarre Adventure

**Hello again! So far, I appreciate the reviews I've gotten so far, and I have to admit that this chapter got a little out of hand. Along with that, I was assailed by the first case of sinusitis I'd had in almost a decade! That did a good job of debilitating me for a good amount of time, along with me taking this at a leisurely pace. Remember that just like the rest of us, I work on this in my spare time.**

**Either way, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It was early in the morning when Ray made a small fire in the hearth. The birds were singing, and the morning sun shone through the windows of the building that Ray had found himself in. The elder said that this was the place where they allowed outsiders to stay for a while. The building was very empty since he was the only outsider that had shown up in quite a while, according to the elders of the Human Village. It was so empty in fact, that he had only ever opened the door to his room specifically. Ray got started on making himself a meager breakfast out of the rice and smoked fish that the elders had pooled together for him as a welcome gift. It seemed that the elders were very welcoming of outsiders, and since he knew a fair amount about Japanese customs, he was told that he'd be able to find his place here eventually.

He thought about all of the questions, the very polite interrogation that they had performed on him, over more tea and rice crackers. They asked him all sorts of things, so many things that he actually had a hard time remembering all of them. Eventually, their questioning had gone on well into the night, and they told him to come back in a few days. When he did, they presented him a few sets of clothes and a week's worth of food and told him that he would be living in the outsider's dormitory for the time being.

He sneezed due to some of the dust in the building and rubbed his nose. They had done a good job of cleaning the place for him, and he appreciated it, but you can only do so much when a place had not been used in a few years. The place was very spartan in its furnishing, with the only furniture in the moderately large building being what was given to Ray. The furniture amounted to just a futon, a table, a small chest for storing personal possessions, and a few oil lamps for him to see at night with. When he was finished with his breakfast, he started to get dressed. He donned one of the yukatas that the elders had given him, along with the complementary garments, like the tabi and such. He chose not to wear the sandals that they had given him, instead having opted for his sneakers when he discovered he could wear them with the tabi. His normal clothes were rather dirty due to him falling into "Misty Lake", as Marisa and Kourin had named it, and he had not been given a chance to get them washed yet.

When he was dressed, he knelt down and looked over his worldly possessions. These possessions were very meager, and were what he expected to have found by whoever fished his corpse out of San Francisco Bay. He had his wallet and smartphone, and his wristwatch, which that kleptomaniacal "night sparrow" Mystia Lorelei, who was not just a youkai, as he had been corrected on the fly over to Reimu's shrine, didn't notice. He had wrapped his phone and wallet liberally in plastic wrap tape to make a makeshift seal, which thankfully held up during his plunge into the lake. His wristwatch was thankfully unharmed, and he had finally gotten around to setting it for the time zone that Japan was in. Along with that, he also had his only weapon for now. He pulled it out from under his pillow to make sure nothing happened to it.

The weapon was a revolver. It wasn't an overly-large and unwieldy weapon, but it was still large enough to give someone pause if he ever had to pull it out. As he inspected it, the stainless steel that made up its frame reflected the light of the sun on to the ceiling. He read the words that were etched above the trigger: _Ruger Speed-Six_. He had cleaned it before his jump, and was sure that since the water at Misty Lake was not salty it would not have hurt the rounds or his revolver. When he had a chance he still cleaned it off as best he could when Reimu was asleep, though. Along with those six shots, he had twelve more stored in two rubber speed strips that he had within an inner pouch that he originally had connected to his belt, which he could store in his waistband. He was glad that no one ever tried to search him, because he would not have had any way to explain himself had he been caught with it. He looked down at his holster, which had originally been in the small of his back, but if he were to wear a yukata, he lacked a belt with which to store the holster, and wearing two belts was out of the question. He guessed that he would simply have to leave it here for now, and hid it and the spare rounds in the chest behind his futon.

Just as he closed the lid, he heard a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Dobbs-san, but are you awake? Should I come back another time?" A voice asked.

The voice was femenine, and he had never heard this voice before, so it was not Reimu, Yukari, Marisa, or any of the other ladies that he had already met. He had been told by the elders that he would be expecting someone to give him a more in-depth tour of the village today, since Marisa more so gave him a tour of the stores that youkai visited, as well as stores that can assist Ray with magic. He still was racking his brain trying to figure out why Marisa showed him those places, but that would have to wait. He had a guest.

He walked over to the door and opened it, shielding his eyes from the morning sun that threatened to scorch his retinas. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out the young woman that was standing in front of him. She looked to be around his age at twenty-five or so, maybe a few years younger. His gaze went to her hat first, which to him looked like she had a tiny model building resting on the top of her head. When his eyes met hers, she spoke again.

"Good morning, Dobbs-san. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, bowing slightly, which Ray returned.

"Likewise, Miss..." He started, until he realized he actually did not know her name.

"Keine Kamishirasawa is my name, Dobbs-san." Keine replied.

"Thank you, Kamishirasawa-san. I apologize for not asking when the elders told me you would be coming to meet me this morning."

"Oh, it's not a problem. Today's not a school day and I have nothing but time, so I offered to them when I read the Bunbunmaru that I could show you around if you survived long enough to get here."

"Survived? They keep saying that and they won't tell me why. Do outsiders die a lot when they come here?"

"More or less, depending on who they meet first. A lot of the yokai here don't look even remotely intimidating, so they take many of you outsiders by surprise."

"Makes sense, I guess. I thought that Cirno and all her friends were little kids when I first met them."

"You're lucky that Rumia didn't tear you limb from limb and eat you. She's the only one of them that actually eats humans, but sometimes her friends can't talk her out of it."

The thought of that girl, who Ray last saw bouncing around trees like she were a pinball due to her being unable to see where she was flying. doing something so grotesque broke his composure, and he started to chuckle, which drew him a confused glance from Keine.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. So you said we were going to see the village? Marisa-san didn't give me the most informative tour."

"Yes, I am. Please come along, we've got a lot of places that you'll need to commit to memory, since the village is much larger than people think when they first see it."

* * *

Business was starting to slow down at the Suzunaan book renter, and Kosuzu Motoori chose to use this time to take a well-deserved tea break. The last mother left, her children in tow, and she could afford to do nothing for five minutes or so, since her parents were both out as well. She stepped into the back of the store and into their connected home, and poured herself a cup of room-temperature tea that she had made for herself and brought with her in the morning. In this Summer heat, she just couldn't understand how some people could drink hot tea and not pass out from heatstroke. She closed her eyes and took a sip of her tea, and then let out a contented sigh.

She had just gotten comfortable in her chair when she heard multiple sets of footsteps enter the store. She didn't want to get up and meet the customers, but she forced herself to her feet and stepped back into the storefront.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Suzunaan! How-" She started, then realized who it was.

"Good afternoon, Kosuzu-chan." Keine greeted.

"Keine-sama!" Kosuzu exclaimed.

She advanced on the teacher and embraced her, with the teacher returning it in kind.

"It's good to see you again. The children have missed you, you know."

"I-i'm so sorry, Keine-sama! Father's been sick recently and they've needed me more than normal and-"

"It's okay, Kosuzu-chan. I was just teasing you a little."

"Oh..."

Their reunion was cut short by the sound of someone going through the nearby shelves. Both of them turned and looked at the culprit, which was Ray. His expression lit up when he pulled a specific book off of the shelf he had been perusing.

"Hey Keine-san, they've got Moby Dick! And they've even got it in English! You ever read this? Good stuff. A good allegory of how an obsession can lead to your ruin if you let it consume you."

"Who's this, Keine-sama?" Kosuzu asked as she looked at Ray.

"Kosuzu-chan, this is Ray Dobbs. He's the newest outsider to arrive in Gensokyo." Keine explained as she motioned to him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. Ray Dobbs, just like she said." Ray stated with a bow, his hands at his sides.

"O-oh! I'm Kosuzu Motoori. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dobbs-san. It's not common for me to get to meet an outsider." Kosuzu replied.

Ray looked at Keine, one of his eyebrows raised and a quizzical look in his eyes.

"He's no one special, Motoori-chan. He told me himself during our little tour."

"I didn't phrase it like that, but yeah. Nobody special," He walked back over to the nearby shelf. "But I definitely like this place. D'you got any more books in English? I mean Moby Dick's a literary classic and I can reread this all day, but eventually it'll run out of novelty, you know? I know enough Japanese to get by in the countryside, but outside of that I'm not as well-versed as a natural speaker."

The conversation must have turned to something that Kosuzu was capable of, and her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a smile.

"Why yes, we do have a small selection of imports that are in English. Most people here aren't versed in the English language so they mostly sit and collect dust. Allow me to show you." She explained, her tone sure and professional.

"While we appreciate the offer, Kosuzu-chan, I still have a multitude of other places I need to show Dobbs-san before the day is out. He needs to secure himself employment as soon as possible." Keine replied.

"Yeah, I was gonna ask that too; you guys hiring? I can read a little Japanese but I may as well try."

"Oh... we don't make enough to actually hire anyone. I'm sorry, Dobbs-san."

Ray snapped his fingers in defeat.

"Damn. Didn't hurt to ask. But yeah, we gotta get going. Thanks for letting us bother you, Motoori-san."

The two went to leave, with Keine exiting back out into the midday light, practically disappearing as the light enveloped her. Just before Ray left, he snapped his fingers again and quickly turned around.

"Oh! Since I'm probably gonna be coming here a lot, you can just call me Ray. You don't need to treat me like anything special." Ray said, a thin smile on his face.

"Okay, bye Ray-san" She said with a wave, which he gladly returned. With that, he stepped out into the light and was gone.

* * *

A few days passed, and by this time things began to settle into a somewhat normal routine for Ray. He would wake up, work an odd job to put some money in his pocket, and go back home. He sat in his room and read by the light of the sun through the window. When he heard a knock at the door, he placed a bookmark in his book and went to check to see who it was. Before he even got to the door, he could tell who it was.

"Yo Ray! You in there?!" Marisa's voice, albeit a little muffled through the door, could be heard through it.

"Coming, coming!" He replied.

He opened the door, and as he had expected, the black and white magician was standing on his doorstep, grin on her face and broomstick in her hand. Strangely enough, she also had a bulky-looking satchel hanging off of her shoulder.

"What's up? Is something wrong?" He asked.

He looked down at her with an eyebrow raised, and she shook her head in response to his question.

"Nothin's wrong, I just was wonderin' if you were busy today."

Ray stroked his chin as he stared into the cloth of Marisa's hat. He had more than enough money to last him for a little while now, and his willingness to work made sure that his myriad of employers were willing to let him come back and work at any time, according to a multitude of them.

"No, I'm not busy. Why?" He asked her.

"Great! There's somebody I want ya to meet!" She answered.

"Fine by me. Let me get something else on."

After he got himself changed into something more presentable, Ray and Marisa started their journey toward the edge of town.

"So who is it we're meeting today? I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into before I work up the courage to get on your broom again." Ray asked.

"A frienda' mine. See, when I first met ya, I felt something and I want her to see if you've even got the potential for it, ze."

"'Potential'? For what?" He asked. He looked at her, his eyes narrowing, but without him radiating anger. She grinned at him in response to his question.

"A lady's gotta have her secrets, right? What else do you really have to do right now? Just come with me!" She said.

He looked at her, then looked at her broom, then looked back at her, and then looked at her broom again before he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He breathed in and then sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I ask that you give me a few minutes to get ready before you take off like a goddamned rocket." He replied.

Marisa rolled her eyes at that, but after a few minutes of letting Ray amp himself up, she took off gently. She looked at him, with his white-knuckle grip on her broom, and let out a slight chuckle. She caught a glare from Ray, but after what he guessed would have been fifteen minutes of gentle flying, he relaxed a little.

"So where are we going? You never actually told me." Ray asked.

"So, you know Misty Lake?"

"You mean the lake I fell in? The one Where I met Cirno and her friends? Yeah, I know of it."

"I don't know if you saw it or not when you were getting carried to Reimu's shrine, but there's a mansion relatively close to the lake that my friend is a resident of, ze."

"And she's gonna be able to see if I have 'potential', somehow?"

"Yep! She'll probably be able to. Oh! We're comin' up on the mansion, da ze!"

She pointed to it, but it was pretty hard for Ray to miss it. The mansion in question was stunning, to say the least. He looked over the beautiful red brickwork, with it seemingly barely marred by the elements. It was positively massive in size, and he would have called it a small castle more than a mansion.

"Did these crazy rich folks steal Big Ben?!" He asked as he pointed to a large clock tower that was on the grounds.

"Nope! The mansion's owner told me that it was a recreation of it, though!"

"Jesus Christ! Just what kind of people live here?"

"Oh, you'll meet them soon enough, ze!"

When the duo landed nearby, Ray straightened his tie and started to walk toward the imposing structure in the distance. Before he made it even five feet closer, he was pulled behind a tree. When he looked to see who had done it, he discovered that it was actually Marisa who pulled him behind it.

"Hold up! We can't just go waltzin' in like they're expectin' us!" Marisa whispered.

Ray looked at her, then looked back at the road that led up to the mansion. The look on his face would have been rather hard for Marisa to describe to anyone. If she had to describe it, she would have described his look as a mixture of concern and confusion.

"I thought you said she was your friend." He replied.

"I mean, yes and also no? It kind of depends on the day."

When he heard that, Ray placed his hand on his forehead and looked up at the sky. After a moment, he sighed, shook his head slightly and looked at Marisa again.

"So what's up then? How do you get in if you are and aren't her friend at the same time?"

"Obviously we're gonna sneak in, da ze!"

Ray just stared at her, and as his eyes slowly narrowed and it looked like he was going to speak, he stopped and nodded his head slightly.

"Y'know what? You're my ride home, and there was obviously a point where you should have stopped and reconsidered your actions, but we're long past that point; so let's just see where this goes, even though I get that I'm gonna get hurt or die because of this."

When Marisa had finished telling him her plan, they sprang into action. They crawled along the treeline until they got close to the gate itself, instead of simply being able to see the top of it from the horizon. The two of them peered out from behind the tree that they had hid behind this time and saw the woman that Marisa had told Ray about, the one that she referred to as "China". She was pretty tall for a woman from China, and was probably about as tall as he was. He had to guess that she wasn't human, along with that. She rocked that beret though, and it went well with her hair.

Marisa had told him that she usually was asleep around this time, but today she was not. In fact, she looked very much awake. Ray and Marisa watched as her gaze shifted from left to right. Just as she was about to see them, they hid once more.

"So, great master of heists and hunter of treasures; how do you plan on getting in there with the two of us, now that we know she's awake?" Ray asked her.

Marisa looked at him, her eyes having narrowed slightly as she stroked her chin in thought. She looked away, placed her hat on the ground and peered out just so slightly to keep an eye on "China".

"Let me think a little more. She's awake sometimes. Sakuya probably got on to her for it again, so she gets really amped up for a little bit to put on a show for her, then falls back asleep after a little bit." Marisa reassured.

"And how long can that take?"

Marisa shrugged her shoulders in response to his question.

"Depends on the day. It's pretty warm out, so it could be anywhere from a few minutes to... maybe an hour? Do you know what time it is right now?"

Ray looked at his wristwatch and noted the time.

"Yes I do, actually. It's about eight after twelve."

"Great! That means Sakuya's busy getting Remilia's breakfast ready right about now, so she won't be too much of a problem. That means we'll just have to deal with China and maybe Flan," Marisa looked at him, a smile still on her face. "Since you're new, I'll tell you that it's a good idea to not run into Flan. She's known to get excited when she meets new people."

The sudden change in the atmosphere made Ray reconsider his past actions up to this point, but he shook that feeling off and gave Marisa a thumbs up.

"... Alrighty then. Duly noted," He stated flatly. "You ready?"

Marisa nodded in response, her normal smirk in place of the flat expression that she had a moment earlier. She returned his thumbs up in response.

"Born ready," The two started to move, but Marisa stopped Ray before he could start moving to his position. "Wait! Take this."

She reached into the satchel and pulled out a burlap sack, then took it off and handed it to him. When he opened the flap and took a look inside, he raised an eyebrow at the contents of it. Inside it were books, about three or four of varying sizes. Their covers ranged from incredibly plain and leatherbound to one that he was sure was gilded with precious gems and gold.

"Uhh..."

"It's a failsafe. It'll get you in when you get caught, and it should keep you more-or-less safe from Sakuya's wrath if she catches you. Probably."

Rays expression hardened at the addition of that final word.

"... Probably?"

Marisa nodded in response to his question.

"Probably."

It took Ray a few moments to respond. He looked at her and then looked at the gate, and its guard, who was now practicing some sort of martial art.

"Great. Great! Great."

* * *

Hong Meiling practiced her Shaolin Kung Fu in a vain attempt to stay awake in this summer heat. She let loose another punch, and it collided with nothing but the air. Practicing it put her mind at ease, even though her form of fighting was fundamentally useless in Gensokyo, since everyone here seemed to be able to cast magic that would blow her away, along with the gate to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It brought her a peace of mind that she rarely had after getting scolded by Sakuya though, and she was going to practice it anyway, usefulness be damned.

"Hey, China! What's going on?!" Marisa called out. The guard looked at her quizzically as she descended in front of her.

"Marisa Kirisame! The woman herself! And to what do I owe this visit? Come to steal more of Miss Patchouli's books, I assume?" She asked, her arms crossed.

"Oh no no no! Not today. I'm just here because I was out looking for more mushrooms, and I wanted to take a break and chat, ze." Marisa answered.

Meiling's eyes narrowed as she tried to read Marisa's body language. She did not look like she was lying, and she _did_ have a bag. It was currently empty, but that did not mean anything, since she was known to hunt for mushrooms and "rare items" from time to time for all manner of experiments.

"Well, it doesn't look like you've had a lot of luck today." Meiling stated as she pointed to the empty sack.

Marisa looked away and rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah, yeah. I've not been very lucky today. I was told about this type a' root that apparently grows around Misty Lake, but I just didn't seem to find any yet. I was gonna check the little patch of woods near the Mansion, but I thought it might be good to check with you first and ask if you've seen it before. You occasionally go out with Flandre to play around here, right?"

"Well, what does it look like?"

"It kinda looks like..." She looked around a bit until her eyes lit up. "Like that over there, ze!"

She pointed over near one side of the mansion, close to the wall and jogged over there.

"I think this is it! Come over here and take a look!"

"I can't just come over there! I have to guard the gate!"

This response caused Marisa to roll her eyes and let out an exasperated groan.

"Hey, you're the Mansion's gardener! You should know what it looks like! What if I pick it and it poisons me or something? Do you want to know that you killed me, da ze?!"

Meiling crossed her arms once again and huffed, before she finally started to march over there. Ray took this as a good sign and sprang into action. He kept to a crouch as he snuck over to the gate. When he got to it, he pulled on one of them, and raised his eyebrow at just how light the gate felt, and just how smooth it was. It looked like it was wrought iron or something, so he was expecting a loud creak. When the gate was perfectly silent, it caused him to raise an eyebrow. After he snuck inside the gate and shut it behind him, he finally was able to get a good look at the mansion. Now that he was closer, the beauty of it, along with the sheer size of the compound, made his jaw drop.

He walked around the courtyard and took note of just how expensive it was. The hedges that were under the windows were perfectly trimmed, and the fountain that was in front of the main door was a beautiful sculpture of some sort of mythical creature that he had never seen before. Overall, he had to say that this was the kind of house that he expected someone who was very, very important to live in. The only thing he found that he could say was a big drawback to the building's extravagance and beauty were the massive steel shutters on all of the windows that he could see. To him, that seemed a little excessive, but he wasn't the one who designed the security for this place, so he couldn't really nitpick.

He walked over to the only door he could find and checked to see if it was locked, and when it opened, he took a peek inside. The interior was just as extravagant as the exterior. He stepped in without even realizing it and began to look around the main hall. The fact that it seemed like the walls and floor were both differing shades of red should have gotten to him, but the way in which the two complemented each other made him accept it. His gaze was drawn to the massive chandelier that hung above him. Before he had a chance to look all the way down he felt something sharp at his neck.

"Who are you, and how did you get inside our mansion?" A female voice asked him. He instinctively put his hands up and locked his body. He could hear the malice that dripped off of her words, even if she kept her tone neutral.

"Uhh..." He stated, his mind having gone blank from the sudden threat to his life. He felt the blade press harder against his neck and he stiffened up even more.

"Answer me now, or you won't leave this mansion alive."

"Okay okay okay! Uhh, I've got books that need to be returned."

"How do you know we have a library?"

"Lady! I don't know jack shit about you guys! All I know is that a friend of mine told me to come with her here and she gave me this bag!"

With that answer, the pressure from whatever this woman held to his neck was gone. He finally moved his head down to see who it was who held him at what he assumed was knife point, and saw a maid. This maid was as beautiful as every woman he had seen so far in Gensokyo, but he was shocked at the sight of her silver hair, along with the fact that she had somehow disarmed him of his weapon. She held it in her right hand and inspected it. He furrowed his brow at just how well she knew her trigger discipline for being a maid, but she had just been holding one of those silvery knives to his throat, so she must have had some sort of training.

"It's not every day that one sees a firearm in Gensokyo, Outsider. Especially one that is in such good condition as this one." The maid stated.

"Well, yeah. Besides, that's stainless steel so it kind of takes care of itself." Ray replied.

Ray's demeanor caught the maid off-guard. Usually, when someone was caught trespassing within the mansion they would usually beg and plead for their life. Then again, it had been quite a long time since someone aside that black and white witch had been caught trespassing there, so her memory was a little fuzzy on how those that did usually acted. The maid's eyes narrowed as she inspected Ray. Overall, he looked rather calm and composed, as if he had forgotten that she had a knife to his throat only a moment ago.

"What? Is there somethin' on my face?" Ray asked her. He felt around on his face to check it for anything that was not supposed to be there.

She closed her eyes, shook her head, and let out a sigh. She stowed the revolver in her apron pocket, which caused Ray to point at her with his index finger. His face showed no signs of anger, having stayed calm and composed.

"Uhhhh... Am I gonna get that back?"

"You will get it back when your business is done here," She turned around and started to walk down the hallway to his left, and with her hand she beckoned for him to follow. "Come with me. We'll take care of your business here."

He nodded in response and followed along behind her. He took in the sights as they walked to... Wherever it was that Marisa had planned on taking him if her plan had not completely fallen apart. The maid had not even tried to make conversation on the way, so Ray decided to break the ice. He walked a little faster so that he was walking side-by-side with her. When he got there, she did not even take a look at him, her eyes still focused on the hallway in front of them.

"I'm Ray Dobbs, pleasure to meet you. What's your name?" He asked.

"My name is Sakuya Izayoi." Sakuya answered.

"Well, Miss Izayoi, it's a pleasure to meet you, even with the... Alarming way that we first met."

"If you had simply knocked, you would have been met at the door in a less threatening manner, Mister Dobbs."

"Yeah, I kinda realized that after I shut the door behind me. I don't really have a good excuse that would hold any water, aside from-"

"Getting caught up in Miss Kirisame's plans."

Sakuya's gaze went in Ray's direction, and he looked away from her out of reflex and rubbed the back of his head. He could his face getting warmer as he thought about what he had done, and who he had listened to, to get himself into his current predicament.

"I probably shoulda said no. I mean, I got to see this beautiful work of engineering, at least. I wouldn't have seen it if I'd stayed in the Village. You guys really have a gorgeous place to live at. All I've got is a room no bigger than a low-end college dorm to call my own."

"We take great pains to keep the mansion well taken care of. Our fairy staff is more than capable of ensuring the cleanliness of the grounds."

Ray looked around in an attempt to see any of these fairies that worked at the mansion, and when he saw none, he turned to look back at Sakuya.

"Fairy staff? I haven't seen anyone other than us. Not outside, aside from that redhead and Marisa."

"They are quite shy around trespassers. It is part of our safety protocols for dealing with... trespassers who look like they are not very dangerous."

Ray stopped in his tracks at the mention of "safety protocols". When Sakuya noticed that he was not walking beside her, she turned around and looked at him, one of her eyebrows raised.

"I'm not gonna die here, am I?" He asked.

Sakuya shook her head in response. She turned and looked at him with that blank expression, which sent a shiver up his spine this time.

"You are of no threat to anyone within this mansion, so there would be no reason to end your life. If you had not had these books in your possession, you would have simply been escorted off the premises by me."

Ray stared at her for a few more moments before he blinked, having processed what he had been told.

"Okay, then. At least I wouldn't have had my head on a spike. So..."

"Just follow me and we will return these books to their owner."

The two of them walked in silence for a little while longer until they reached a large and grandiose-looking door. It was beautifully inlaid with gold and other precious metals, the handles were also made out of gold, as were the knockers that were attached to it. Ray let out a whistle in awe at the third display of extravagance that he had seen so far.

"Damn. There's a part of me that feels that you're kinda bragging to me with all this."

"That part of you is quite wrong. The Mistress's home was this extravagant when she inherited it, and she has seen no reason to remodel it. Those of us who live within the Scarlet Devil Mansion see no reason to attempt to impress mortals such as yourself."

"Alright."

Sakuya knocked on the door, and within a few moments, it was opened by another redhead. This one was not wearing a beret or anything similar to what "China" was wearing, but what made her stick out were the small, bat-like wings that protruded from her head. Other than those, she was generally rather plain. She was still quite attractive, in fact, he had to say that she was probably the most beautiful of the women that he had seen in Gensokyo so far. It was almost unnatural just how beautiful she was, to the point where it made him uneasy.

"Good afternoon to you, Miss Izayoi. Do you require my assistance?"

"Not today, Koakuma. I have someone here that needs to meet with Miss Patchouli. Could you please see to that for me? I'm assuming that Marisa has already made her presence known to the two of you."

She motioned to Ray, who nodded in response.

"The name's Ray Dobbs. It's a pleasure to meet you."

When this "Koakuma" realized that Ray was a human, she scowled at him and narrowed her eyes. She disappeared behind the door, and it opened enough to allow him inside. Sakuya motioned for him to enter. He stepped forward. Just when he was about to pass the threshold of the door, he looked back at her one more time. She motioned once more for him to enter, and with a wave, he did so. When he finally looked back from the door as it closed behind him, his jaw dropped once more.

The interior of this room was one of impossible size. The room seemed to stretch higher than what should have been physically possible. The ceiling must have been so high up that it simply could not be seen, as he could only see darkness. The walls were lined with bookcases, and everywhere he looked, he could not see a spot on the walls that did not have a bookcase built within it.

"Human! Don't you just stand there and gawk at the magnificence of the Great Library! Madame Patchouli is waiting for you!" Koakuma shouted.

Ray saw that this Koakuma did in fact have wings, and was lazily hovering above him ten meters or so above him. The scowl on her face told him all about how she felt about him, and humans in general. He hurried and followed the woman through the aisles of bookcases until he came upon an open area. This area had a long table in the middle, along with all manner of what he guessed were scientific implements and other, more esoteric things. Aside from him and Koakuma, there were a fair amount of people gathered here. They all sat around the large table and lazily drank tea from very beautiful looking teaware. When he spotted Marisa, he narrowed his eyes and scowled. When she finally noticed him, she waved at him and smiled.

"Yo, Ray! Took you long enough to get here!" She exclaimed.

He stepped forward a bit, and when he felt himself touch the table he pointed at her, the look of contempt he had was still on his face. He turned his head slightly to what he thought would have been more of an imposing look.

"Y'know, if it weren't for the fact that no harm befell me, and the fact that I didn't run into this 'Flan' that you told me about, I'd probably be a lot angrier about you letting me get caught by Miss Combat Maid here," He looked back at Sakuya, who was standing at attention for some reason. "Thank you for not killing me, by the way. I don't know if I told you or not."

Sakuya simply nodded. She went around him and stood next to this little girl. Ray couldn't really say for certain how old she was, but he guessed that she was at least nine or so years old. She was dressed like she had just stepped out of an old-timey movie, with her funny-looking cap and just how old-fashioned her clothing looked. When she finally looked up from the book that she was reading, he saw that her eyes were a deep red, and very much abnormal by his standards. It took him a bit, but he finally saw her wings. Black, leathery bat wings were attached to her back. When he saw them move slightly, it sent a slight shiver down his spine and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Another one motioned for him to sit down, which he did. This one was visibly older, but he guessed that she must have been in her early twenties at the oldest. Along with that, she looked like she had just rolled out of bed, with her clothes that looked very much like pajamas and the cap that she wore. It looked very similar to the one that the little girl wore, but it was different somehow, even if he could not put his finger on it. Just like the kid, she had been reading a book before he had made himself known. Before he had a chance to speak, Marisa spoke first.

"This is the guy I was talkin' about, Patchy! He's the one I felt that weird feeling from!" Marisa stated.

"Yes, the newest outsider, correct?" The pajama-clad girl asked, not even looking up from her book.

"Ray Dobbs, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet all of you, even if it had to be in such a rude way," He reached into the satchel and set the books on the table. "But I hope these will help smooth things over."

The books being placed on the table drew the girl out of her book. She picked them up and looked them over, then handed them off to Koakuma. Koakuma must have known what to do with them, because she took to the air again and flew off toward somewhere further into the library.

"I know for a fact that those books were stolen-" She started.

"Borrowed!" Marisa interjected. The mention of that word drew a glare from this "Patchy", but her attention was quickly placed back on Ray.

"Stolen... By Marisa a few weeks ago, and whilst I appreciate that they are back in my possession, and without any noticeable damage, I have to ask why they were in your possession and not hers."

Ray looked at Marisa and crossed his arms. Eventually her face got red from embarrassment, and with a sigh of exasperation, she relented.

"Okay, so I told him that when he got inside he might have to worry about Flan and Sakuya. More so Flan than Sakuya, so I gave him the books so he'd have an excuse to get here, ze!" Marisa said, throwing her arms up in defeat.

"Probably shoulda told me that she can just appear anywhere. It was like she just came outta nowhere." Ray added.

"I didn't see a point in telling you about an inevitability, ze. Even if I'd met up with you right away we'd have been caught. I'm not used to doing this with another person involved."

"Man, whatever," He turned to "Patchy", and since he was close enough to shake her hand, he extended it for her to shake, which she did. "Ray Dobbs. Former Marine, private investigator and journalist. Pleasure to meet you, Miss..."

"Patchouli Knowledge," She stated bluntly. "You said 'Marine', and you don not seem to have the traditional English accent, so I am guessing you are an American, then? It is not very often an outsider from shows up from there."

"Yep. You're the first person to know that it exists aside from Miss Yakumo." Ray replied.

"We, compared to many of the inhabitants here, are a rather new addition to Gensokyo, so we're somewhat more well-versed in Outside World history than many of the other Gensokyo residents." The little girl interrupted, rather rudely.

Patchouli and Ray looked at her, and she glared at the two of them from behind her cup of tea. Patchouli looked back at Ray, and then motioned toward her.

"Mister Dobbs, this is Remilia Scarlet, the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and a good friend of mine."

He looked at the little girl known as Remilia, with her batlike wings, the deep redness of the tea that had been drinking, and the fact that all of the windows to this mansion had been closed and that not light had been allowed through, and Ray finally realized what it was that he was meeting for the first time, and it caused his eyes to widen in disbelief. With all of the things that he had met and dealt with so far, this was something that he had not expected, and it filled him with both a sense of dread, and a sense of extreme curiosity. After a few moments, he finally spoke again.

"... You're a vampire, aren't you?" He asked, a very slight waver in his voice.

This caused Remilia's glare to deepen. If Ray did not know any better, he would have said that he saw an angry glow in her eyes. She slammed her hands down on the table, the sound resounding through the cavernous library.

"I'm more than just a vampire! I am the Scarlet Devil! A descendant of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula hims- w-whoa!"

In her attempt to quickly stand up on the chair that she had been seated in, she had almost toppled it over. If Sakuya, always ready to serve her mistress, had not been there to steady the chair she most likely would have toppled over with it.

"Please do not injure yourself again, milady." Sakuya advised. Remilia, whose face was as red as her eyes, nodded slightly as she did her best to avoid the gazes of the people who had seen her near-tumble. After a moment, she composed herself and began to speak again. "R-right! Thank you for assisting your mistress, Sakuya. Now," She pointed to Ray, who raised an eyebrow at her gesture. "You, human! Why did you trespass upon my land?"

Ray shook his head in response. He stood up to meet her gaze and crossed his arms. He had to hold back from losing his composure and cracking a smile, since even if this terrifying vampire, who had somehow earned that rather grim nickname, was the most adorable little girl he had seen since his youngest niece, he still had to be on his best behavior. Remilia seemed like the kind of person to get angry if someone did not take her seriously. Ray's gaze went from the angry vampire to the maid that stood at attention behind her, who had one of the most blissful looking expressions on her face that he had ever seen. It looked like for a split second, her nose had begun to bleed before it simply disappeared, which made him blink in surprise and return to Remilia's attention before she noticed.

"Miss Scarlet, I can assure you that I didn't mean to intentionally trespass on your land, as my associate Marisa here-"

"So you're a new accomplice in pilfering Patchy's books, then? Tell me why I shouldn't have Sakuya cut you down where you stand right now?" She interrupted, her voice raised.

Ray looked at her as she unfurled her wings in an attempt to be more intimidating. They were definitely impressive. They had to have been twice her height at least. She glared at him once more as she waited for him to say his piece.

"Well for one, I returned those books, and I don't plan on ever sneaking in here again. If I come back here I'll just ask that guard to see if you want visitors," Ray looked at Marisa, one of his eyebrows raised. "Just how did you get in if you were talking with her?"

Marisa shrugged in response, a smirk on her face. "It's not like China can stop me, ze! She's not even close to me in terms of strength. Oh! Speaking of that, Sakuya-"

"I understand. I shall go and collect Miss Meiling and organize some fairies to repair the gate when the two of you have finished your business here." Sakuya said, as if she knew what Marisa was going to say.

"But yeah, I'm not the kind of person to steal things. I never really needed to, thankfully. I swear, if I ever need something from you all, I'll make sure to ask directly." Ray assured.

Remilia crossed her arms, her eyes closed and a triumphant grin on her face. She let out a small chuckle. "Just like all you puny humans, you don't even try to resist us. If it weren't for Reimu and Marisa, we'd have conquered all of Gensokyo with barely any effort." She boasted.

As she carefully clambered down back into her seat, Ray smirked a little as he sat down himself. He knew to not let outward appearances skew his thoughts on the people that existed in this place, since he was sure that most of the people in this mansion could kill him without even breaking a sweat. He looked back at Marisa, who had poured himself another cup of tea during their conversation.

"So why did you drag me out here, aside from meeting all of these lovely ladies and the great and powerful mistress here?" He asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I felt somethin' with Ray here! I think he might have magic potential! Is there a way to check?" Marisa asked.

Patchouli took a sip of her tea, and then nodded. "There are indeed ways to measure just how much natural affinity a person has toward the magical arts. I agree with you, though. I can feel a slight aura emanating off of Mister Dobbs that makes me believe that you are indeed correct," She placed her cup of tea on the table. "Since I have never seen him use magic, I cannot effectively gauge just how strong his aptitude is toward any of the seven elements, if he even has an aptitude for Wu Xing."

"What the hell's 'Wu Xing'?" He asked. This question managed to get a sigh out of Patchouli, who rang a bell that had been sitting in front of her. The bell's jingle resounded through the library, and in a flash, Koakuma had returned to her master's side.

"Yes, Lady Patchouli?! What do you require?!" She asked.

"Koakuma, please retrieve a basic grimoire on the manipulation of Wu Xing, as well as a basic grimoire on western magical studies."

"Right away, Lady Patchouli!"

The winged redhead took flight once more, and after a few minutes she returned with a handful of books. The books were very similar to the ones that he had returned to Patchouli, and just like them, they ranged in various sizes, from one of them being a book that he could fit into his pocket, to one that was as large and thick as one of his uncle's encyclopedias, with a cover that looked to be made of metal plates. Patchouli went to lay them out on the table, and when she was finished, there were ten books laid out in front of the two of them.

"If you are capable, Mister Dobbs, tell me if you can read any of the texts that I have laid out." Patchouli ordered.

Ray nodded and began to look over the books. He looked at the large metal book first, and when he opened it, he couldn't read it in the slightest. The text looked to just be squiggly lines that left him with a very slight throbbing in the back of his skull. Next he chose one of the medium-sized grimoires. This one had a jewel embedded in the front cover that was carved to look like an eye. He opened it and once again had the same problem. He placed the book back down and looked over them. Eventually, he picked up the pocket-sized book. Like the others, it was bound in leather or what he had hoped was leather, and when he opened it, he snapped his fingers.

"This one's in Latin?" He flipped back to the front page. This book was very obviously handwritten, much like the other ones that had been placed in front of him, but when he read the first page, he was able to understand it. "Initiate's grimoire in the manipulation of thaumaturgical concepts. Lotario Nevio Rais. Must be the author."

"A basic guide for western magical principles. Seeing as how you are a westerner, I would guess that this would suit you the most." Patchouli added.

"An outsider that actually knows something cool for once?! Ray-san, just where did you learn this 'Latin' language?! I thought the Outside World didn't believe in magic!" Marisa said, standing up and slamming her hands down on the table, a grin on her face. Ray did not even look up from the grimoire when he finally responded.

"My parents raised me Catholic, so I kind of had to learn it. Nobody actually speaks it anymore but it's helpful for reading occult books and shit like that. I guess I can kind of thank them for that, it kind of helped get me into occultism when I was younger."

"Intriguing. This must explain why you have such an aura at your age." Patchouli commented.

"Aura?" He asked.

"The part of you that, along with being the manifestation of your soul outside of your body, can be an indicator of your magical prowess in some individuals, or at least the capability of learning. Yours is rather prominent for someone who has lived their whole life in the Outside World. You're definitely not as powerful of a potential magician as myself, Alice, or even Marisa, but you're powerful enough to still protect yourself with the right training and focus."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, ze?!" Marisa asked, an angry tone in her voice.

"So... You're saying that I can be a wizard?" He asked.

He turned to look at Patchouli, but she had pointed at him, with a very slight scowl on her face. The presence of any sort of emotion on her face surprised him, and he had to blink to make sure that he did not imagine it.

"A wizard is just a magician that does not like being called a magician. But yes, you are capable of learning how to use magic." She answered.

"Well, that's a positive at least. So where should I begin?"

"There's much more to being a magician than casting magic willy-nilly. It is a long road of study and experimentation. A prospective magician who is not born one like myself, loses many things along the way to becoming one, and gains many more." Patchouli stated.

Ray leaned in a bit, one of his eyebrows raised. Patchouli was making being a magician sound better and better by the minute, and if he could at least learn to fly like they did, it would make getting around a lot easier. He did have some doubts, especially with how intentionally vague Patchouli was about learning how to use it, but it was not like he had to make a decision like this right away.

"This is a lot to process." Ray said. He placed his hand on his forehead.

"It's alright, Ray-san! You don't have to make a decision today, ze!" Marisa replied.

"The path one walks to become a magician is not an easy one, and it should be tread on a whim. If you ever decide to walk that path, you need to fully commit to it." Patchouli added.

"It doesn't matter. You'll never be on Patchy's level anyway. Not in a hundred-bazillion years." Remilia said.

Aside from Remilia's rude addition, which Ray had attributed to her being seen almost toppling a chair, he felt that he could do it, or at least put forth a good effort. If he learned how to fly, he'd accomplished more than he had expected him to, and that was a reason enough to seriously consider it.

"If I commit to it, I'm sure I'll end up surpassing you in half the time," Ray said with a smirk, which drew a raised eyebrow from Patchouli. "Are you sure you want me to give it my hundred and ten?"

Suddenly, the books in front of him began to float away. Koakuma began collecting them, save for the massive metal one. Ray looked between the books floating toward her and Patchouli.

"If you wish to learn the basic fundamentals, you are to do it here, under my supervision. I would rather not have any more of my grimoires being stolen." Patchouli answered.

Ray thought of trying to make an attempt to persuade her, but after a moment of deliberation, he eventually decided on how best to handle the situation.

"Fair enough."


	4. Chapter Four: The Seven Colors Incident

**I don't have a lot to say about this, since I'm sure that everyone already knows about the biggest issue right now. I'm sure I don't have to name it, right? You'd think that means that I wouldn't have to be working, but nope! I'm an essential, apparently. That is one of the reasons I haven't been able to update as quickly as some of the others in this archive right now. Along with that, I chose the worst time to move! That ate into my free time (that I use to work on this while juggling other things) as well. It was a long time coming, and it was set in stone before I had even began to think about this story, but it was more than I expected, what with the small amount of things I actually own!**

**Either way, I hope that you can enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

It was raining in the Human Village. Rain, in the case of most of the inhabitants, meant doing their best to avoid going outside and getting themselves soaked. From a nearby store, a small group of older villagers watched as a lone worker continued to cut wood out in front of the woodcutter's warehouse. The man's coworkers watched from within the warehouse's open door as he continued to cut wood. He only had three more logs to cut, and he was determined to finish it, incoming thunderstorms be damned. He lined up the next log, and just when he began to bring the axe down upon it, a clap of thunder shook the ground around him, and him along with it. If it were not for the fact that he had prepared himself he might have accidentally chopped his foot, as the hatchet he had been using was now embedded in the ground next to the stump he had been cutting the logs on. He quickly finished up his work and deposited the cut logs in the warehouse.

"Why're ya in such a hurry, outsider? Got a big date or somethin' tonight?" one of the woodcutters asked.

In the light of the oil lamp and what sunlight still was visible through the open door, the man took off his kasa and shook some of the water off of it. Ray shook his head in response to the question.

"Nah. I might go and chat with the miko when this thunderstorm passes, though. Is the first round on you tonight, Goro-san? You're awfully inquisitive about me today." He asked.

The man who asked Ray the question started to stammer out an answer, but he was interrupted by the sound of a wood cane clacking on the stone floor of the warehouse. All of the workers turned to watch as their boss started to make his way out of his tiny office, and head toward Ray. When he reached him, he reached into his pocket and deposited a handful of coins into Ray's outstretched hand. Ray quickly counted them up to make sure it was correct before he bowed to the man.

"You always do good work, Dobbs-san. Don't let these morons get to you. They've still got a whole day's work to do before they can leave!" The old man said. When he spoke about the other workers, he raised his voice as if to reprimand them.

"It's no biggie. Let me know when you need any extra help." Ray replied. The two of them shook hands, and Ray left the warehouse, doing his best to not get even more wet as he made his way back home. When he stepped into the dormitory, he was glad he had gotten home before the storm had gotten even worse. The first thing he did was lock the door to the dormitory so no one would disturb him while he changed. Marisa was not known for knocking when she came over, and he didn't want a repeat of last week.

"Maybe I shoulda waited for the rain to end..." He mused.

When everything that was soaked through was off and ready to get drying, he stepped into his room. It looked more or less the same as he had left it, aside from the fact that the window looked like someone had tampered with it. He moved closer to get a better look at it, and saw that four of the slats across the window had been broken near the corner. He scratched his head and looked around for something to cover the hole with to keep any rats out. Something moved in the periphery of his vision. It couldn't be a rat, since rats don't float around.

"Alright, come out," He said, as he looked around frantically. "If you're a youkai or something, I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." He reached into the box next to where his futon would lay and removed his revolver and held it at the ready. From the corner of his room, he heard the sound of the wicker chest that he stored some of his clothes in getting moved by something. He darted over and pulled the basket out, only to see a small humanoid figure trying to shield itself from him. In the light of the lamp, he saw that it's skin shone like it had a polish to it, and that the places where its hands met, its elbows had joints.

"You're definitely not a rat." He stated matter-of-factly. The little person, upon the realization that Ray was not going to hurt it, looked up at him with what amounted to a blank stare. He extended his index finger and began to slowly move it toward the trembling creature, until it touched its forehead. The creature stiffened up completely, but when it realized that Ray was not going to hurt it, it grabbed ahold of his finger and moved it away.

"Excuse me? Are you home, Outsider-san?" An unknown feminine voice called from the entrance to the dormitory. Ray looked at the little creature, and then toward the direction of the door. He looked back at the creature, who seemed to be trembling even harder now. Between the stranger knocking at his door and the trembling creature, Ray was getting a bad feeling about all of this. He picked up the little thing, which squirmed and fought in protest, and placed it inside the wicker chest.

"Wait right here." He whispered to it, and then it was enveloped by darkness and fresh-smelling yukatas. Ray threw something on quickly as the knocking got a bit louder, which made him hurry to the door. When he opened it, the girl standing there made him do a double-take. For a moment, he was not sure that the person that stood on his doorstep was actually a person and not just a human-sized doll. Her blue dress was not even the least bit wet, even with the torrential downpour that was going on behind her. Behind her, there was a small doll, very similar in appearance to that little thing that he had stuffed in his wicker chest.

"Oh! Excuse me for bothering you, Outsider-san, but I was looking for something that I had misplaced, and I thought it might've been here." The girl said. Her voice was very pleasant to Ray's ears, and if he had the choice to, he'd listen to her all day. Even so, he still had that feeling in his gut that something was wrong, and it had something to do with that little thing in his room. He leaned on the frame of the door and crossed his arms.

"Well, before we go any further, we should probably introduce ourselves," Ray held out his hand for the girl to shake. "Name's Ray Dobbs, miss."

She shook his hand in turn with a smile on her face. Even if she were smiling, it did not seem to be a genuine smile to him. The smile was one that to him, was more than one that was forced for the sake of being polite. It seemed so empty to him, as if there were not any actual emotions behind the doll-like face of his new acquaintance.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dobbs-san. You may call me Alice Margatroid." She said, the tone of her voice cheerful, even if Ray knew that it sounded more fake than all of Hollywood.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, exactly why did you come and visit me in the middle of," He gestured to the storm behind her. "That? That doesn't seem like that good of an idea, if I'm being honest with ya."

"I lost a very important doll of mine, and I was wondering if you might have seen it. I've been going around asking people in the area if they may have seen it, but so far I haven't had any luck."

"What did the doll look like?"

"Well, it was blonde like me, with blue eyes and a frilly black dress. I have to say, it was probably the best doll I've made in quite a long time."

That matched the description of the thing that was currently in his room, and it made him even more uneasy, but he did not show it. If it were not for the fact that he had learned how to keep control of his emotions, he probably would be looking rather anxious. All of these occurrences were most likely a complete and total coincidence, but it was shaping up to be the kind of thing that, if he were still in the Outside World, would be following to get a good scoop on.

"Haven't seen anything like that around here, but I'll let you know if I do. Where do you live?" He asked.

"Oh, my home is within the Forest of Magic. You would be better off asking Marisa-san or Reimu-san to tell me. They don't run any risk of being hurt by the denizens and dangers of the forest." She answered.

"Will do. I'd offer to let you come in and have some tea or something, but you sound like you're in a hurry. Good luck finding your doll, miss."

"Thank you, Dobbs-san. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your day." Alice flashed him that sickening smile again and then walked off into the rain. Ray could see it just bouncing off of some sort of field that she had apparently put up around herself. He would have to see if Patchouli could teach him that one, or show him how to make his own spell that was similar.

When Alice was finally out of his hair, Ray went back inside his room and went to check on the doll. There was a slight thump coming from inside the chest, and the top was being moved ever so slightly. He opened it and the little doll jumped out, but Ray was fast enough to grab it. It did not struggle this time, and when he sat it down on the top of the chest, it stared at him intently as it waited for him to speak.

"Alright, so I don't know if you can understand me. Can you? Nod your head if you can." He said, pointing to the doll again.

The doll nodded.

"Okay, so you understand me. That's a start at least," Ray stroked the stubble that was beginning to grow on his chin. He would have to figure out if there was a barber or some similar profession in this village, or he would eventually end up looking scruffier than his uncle during the winter. He looked around the room, and eventually his gaze fell on the pad of paper and ink pen that he bought from some blue-haired kid (probably, he had genuine trouble distinguishing them from youkai anymore) with a huge backpack that was manning a stall on the road. "Do you know how to write?" He gestured to the pen and sheaf of papers again.

The doll nodded again. He placed the paper and pen on the floor, and the doll picked up the pen. It was a little silly to look at, since it had to hold the pen in both hands and balance it against itself to even write, but when it got the hang of it, it began writing. At first, it attempted to write out a paragraph, but after the third time it dropped the pen, it gave up and stuck to simple sentences.

[THANK YOU.]

"You're welcome, I guess." Ray replied. The doll looked up at him with its expressionless face for a moment, and then it began writing once again.

[THAT IS NOT ALICE.]

"It's gonna take a lot more than you just saying that for me to believe that." The doll stamped one its feet on the floor in protest, then picked up the pen again and resumed writing.

[TAKE ME TO REIMU. INCIDENT.]

"Okay, okay. I'll take you to Reimu. It'll have to wait, though."

[GO NOW!]

"In all this rain? We'll want to wait for the storm to pass, at least."

[NOW NOW NOW BIG TROUBLE]

The doll dropped the pen and toddled over to Ray. It flailed its tiny fists at him, and even if it did not cause any damage, it showed him just how urgent this little doll's mission was. He picked up the doll and sat it down on the chest again.

"Okay, okay. Give me a minute to get dressed for the weather, at least."

* * *

Reimu and Marisa sat on the porch of the shrine's living quarters and watched as the rainstorm began to clear up. Since the wind had died down, and Reimu had removed the some of the storm shutters (with no help from Marisa, who decided to just laze around and watch instead), the two of them had decided to not let the storm ruin their day, and had broken out a bottle of sake for the two of them to share. Reimu sipped at hers, but Marisa had decided that she wanted to get drunk quickly, and had opted for a less traditional drinking cup. After she quickly downed her third cup of sake, she let out a contented sigh.

"Man, that hits the spot!" Marisa exclaimed. Her face had already started to flush, and Reimu guessed that she would be blackout drunk within the hour if she kept going at this rate. She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her sake. It was not the best sake that she had, but that was saved for very special occasions, such as flower viewings or when at least three weeks went by without an incident. It did not burn going down, which made it rather pleasant overall.

"I don't know why I should let you sit here when you didn't even help me with the shutters." Reimu remarked. Marisa smiled warmly and refilled her cup with more sake.

"You had it under control! You know how it goes, 'too many cooks spoil the broth', and all that, ze."

"Whatever. It's not like you would have been able to leave, anyway. If the storm comes back I don't know if you'd be able to stay in the air long enough to get home. I don't know if I'd be able to sleep at night if I knew I-"

Reimu saw the unmistakable tip of a straw hat beginning to make itself noticeable from where the steps leading to her shrine ended. When the figure made itself more noticeable, she could see that he (presumably a he, anyway. The only other people she could think of who matched that build were that oni Hoshiguma and her late mother) had a straw raincoat on. His hakama were tucked into the shin-high boots that he was wearing. When he looked up from the steps, she was indeed correct with her assumption.

"Hey, Reimu-san!" Ray shouted. He waved at the two of them as he approached. When he got closer, the two of them noticed a little blond tuft of hair that was sticking out of the front of his raincoat. For some reason, Ray had one of Alice's dolls stuffed into the front of his yukata. When he finally reached them, he sat down on the porch and pulled the doll out. When he sat it down on the porch, it stood up and dusted itself off. The two of them, upon seeing this doll act of its own accord, were taken aback in shock.

"Wow, I can't believe Alice finally figured out how to get her dolls to act on their own, ze!" Marisa commented.

"She finally managed it." Reimu added.

She went to poke the doll, but the doll tried to swat her hand away. It failed due to the very obvious difference in strength, but it got its point across. Ray immediately pulled out the pen and a few pieces of paper and laid them out for the doll, who nearly immediately began writing once more.

"It's kinda cute watching it write." Marisa said. She leaned forward to get a better look at what the doll was writing. When the doll was finished with its first sentence, it leaned back and waited for their response.

[REIMU MARISA HELP ME]

"Help? What does a doll need help with?" Reimu mused to Marisa.

"Maybe Alice sent it because she needed help with something." Marisa answered back.

Ray leaned in a bit to join in their conversation.

"She seemed fine, if a bit off when I met her earlier today." He added.

The doll, upon hearing this, stamped its foot in protest and quickly scrawled out a new sentence.

[THAT IS NOT ALICE I AM ALICE]

The trio looked at the doll, who stared up at them with its blank stare. Reimu took a sip of her sake, and then spoke up to break the tension.

"Ah? Are you being serious?" She asked. The doll threw the pen down and began to stomp its feet. If it were a person, they would be fuming with anger, if Ray had to guess. Marisa leaned in to look at the doll, whose gaze attempted to drill into Marisa's soul.

"I wonder how we could check to see if it really is Alice." Reimu added.

"Well, is there anything that only the two of you would know that you could ask?" Ray asked.

Marisa's mouth curled into a devilish grin. Ray guessed that she must have thought of a way to check. She cleared her throat, which drew the attention of everyone that was gathered there. If the doll could have had a chill go up its spine, it would have at that very moment.

"Well, if this little hunk of cloth and wood were Alice, she'd probably have a big problem if I told the story, in front of a boy, about how a few years ago, after she left Makai, she asked me for help, since she was sure she was still growing, and wanted me to help her take her measur-"

The little doll flew as fast as it could right into Marisa's face, where it did its best to pummel her with its tiny wooden fists. Marisa could be heard laughing during the doll's onslaught. "Yep! This is definitely Alice, ze," Marisa grabbed the little doll, who tried its hardest to get itself out of her grasp so that it could keep pummelling her, and held it at arm's length. "She's the only one who'd react like that if I told that story!"

"If I'd not known you my whole life I'd probably do the same thing, you inconsiderate dummy." Reimu responded.

"Really, over measurements?" Ray interjected.

The girls and the doll looked at him like he had just asked one of the most stupid questions that they had ever heard. Ray rolled his eyes in response.

"Whatever. So you're Alice then?" He leaned in a bit more to look at the doll. "It's a pleasure to actually get to meet you, Miss Margatroid. I've heard a lot about you from Marisa." He held out a finger for Alice to shake, and she returned it (albeit with both of her hands instead of just one). Marisa then picked Alice up and placed her on the table with her pen and pad, where she could be more at everyone else's level.

"So how are we gonna deal with this fake Alice then uhh..." Marisa's gaze went away from Alice for a moment. "Alice? Man, saying 'Fake Alice' is gonna get annoying, ze."

Reimu leaned in closer to the table to get a better look at Alice. "So how long have you been stuck as a doll?" Alice quickly went to respond.

[THREE DAYS]

"That's not too long, at least." Ray added. He also leaned in a bit to get more on Alice's level. "So Miss Margatroid, you've been a doll for three days now. Go over everything that led up to when you were, I guess, turned into a doll. Anything that can help Reimu and Marisa fix this is helpful."

[FOUND A BOOK IN THE FOREST]

"You found a book? Like a grimoire or just a regular book?" Ray asked.

[GRIMOIRE. DOLL STARTED TO MOVE ON ITS OWN AFTER I FOUND IT]

"I'm guessing you were pretty happy. Since Marisa and Reimu pointed out that 'you finally did it', I'm gonna guess that you've been trying to make a doll that doesn't need you to work it or something. Am I right?"

Alice nodded rapidly.

[SO HAPPY I CRIED. I WENT TO BED AND WOKE UP AS A DOLL AND MY BODY MOVED ON ITS OWN]

The assembled investigators looked at one another. They all looked rather worried at that piece of information.

"So she wasn't turned into a doll, she got her body switched with the doll's," Ray stated. He scratched his chin for a bit, and then looked at Marisa and Reimu. "Do either of you know of any magic that can do that? I'll bet that there's some sorta spell that can do that."

"Or a curse." Reimu added.

"I bet it's a curse. It probably had something to do with that grimoire you picked up, Alice. I bet that there was something sealed in it." Marisa concluded.

Alice crossed her little wooden arms and nodded in agreement. She hung her little head in defeat and shame, but Marisa patted her on the head.

"It's alright, Alice. It happens to the best of us, da-ze. What's important is getting you back in your own body as soon as possible. And we're gonna do it to die trying." Marisa said optimistically.

"How, though?" Ray asked her.

"Well, we can beat the tar out of the fake Alice until she agrees to get back in the book, or we can seal her, or..." Marisa began to trail off, but Reimu interrupted her.

"Between Marisa and I, we have more than enough ways to deal with a spirit possessing or switching bodies with someone."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it." He said. He got up, put his coat back on, and began to walk away when he felt someone grab hold of his sleeve. He turned around to see that it was Alice. "What?"

"I think she wants you to come with us." Marisa said with a chuckle.

"But why?" He asked.

Alice flew back down to the pen and pad and began writing frantically.

[FAKE ALICE HID THE BOOK. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT. MARISA/REIMU WILL DEAL WITH HER. I CAN SHOW YOU WHERE THE BOOK IS]

"Well, Mister Dobbs. It looks like a lady is asking you for help." Marisa said jokingly. Ray looked at her with an eyebrow raised, but she could see that she struck a bit of a nerve. She leaned forward with a goofy grin. "You just gonna leave a lady in trouble, da-ze?"

Ray made some sort of noise in the back of his throat, like he was both annoyed at her antics, and at the same time angrier than he should be. He pointed at Marisa accusingly.

"Ray Dobbs isn't one to leave a lady in distress when she needs his help, and you know it. Let's fuckin' do this."

He picked up Alice and set her on his shoulder. With a quick turn on his heel, he started to walk toward the forest. He felt Alice tap him on the side of the head, and he picked her up again and looked at her quizzically. She pointed at the forest, shook her head and then made a cutting motion with her hand near her neck.

"What do you mean?" He asked her. He heard some footsteps behind him, so he turned to look. Marisa and Reimu looked to have gotten themselves ready as well, with Reimu letting her gohei rest on her shoulder and Marisa lazily floating on her broom.

"The forest is dangerous for regular humans like you. You don't have anything to protect yourself from the poison further in, and Alice lives a little too close for comfort to where it starts to get poisonous." Reimu explained to him.

Ray looked between the two of them, then at Alice, then back at his two fellow investigators.

"So what now? How the hell am I supposed to help?" He asked.

* * *

"God, is this thing hard to breathe in. I feel like Darth Vader in this thing." Ray said, his voice muffled by the gas mask that he wore. He readjusted the hose a bit to keep it out of the way as the trio walked ever onward to Alice's house. He was surprised that Kourin actually had a gas mask that fit those canisters that he had picked up, but he did, much to Ray's gratitude. He did not like that Marisa told him that they would be "borrowing" it, but Kourin did not seem to really care, and just waved them off with as many of the filters as Ray thought they would need. He was even nice enough to let Ray borrow a satchel to carry them in. Along with the filters, Alice decided that she was going to ride along in the satchel instead of on Ray's shoulder. Ray did not have any issue with that, since it meant that he could look around unimpeded.

"Who's 'Darth Vader'? That's a dumb name." Reimu asked. He turned his head a bit to get a better look at her, and he watched her visibly bristle at his gaze. The mask made him look a lot more intimidating than he actually was, and he looked forward to not having to wear it again. He waved the question off.

"I'll tell you later. It's a long story." He said.

"Alright. Make sure you hold on tight to those ofuda I gave you, alright? It's some of the only protection you have out here if something happens to Marisa and I. Along with that, they're also some of the most powerful ones that I can make, so they should do the trick on whatever book Alice was talking about, if the imposter came from it." Reimu explained to him. He nodded in response and quadruple checked that he still had them in the satchel. Like he had expected, they were there, far enough away from Alice that they would not hurt her, since she was apparently a youkai according to Marisa.

The forest was a lot more intimidating than he had expected it to be. When they started their journey into the deeper parts where Marisa and Alice lived, they could see the sun through the canopy clearly. The trees grew somewhat far apart out there. Further in, it got to the point that Ray had to actively keep an eye open for anything that could cause him to trip, like a tree root or a rock that was partially buried.

"We're almost there, so you can quit your whining, da-ze." Marisa commented. Unlike Reimu, Marisa had chosen to continue flying when they had made it further into the forest. She floated a few meters above them and would swerve to avoid getting into a collision with the occasional tree branch that would get in her way.

Suddenly, she lowered herself to their level and hid behind a nearby tree. Reimu quickly followed suit, which left Ray to duck behind a rather large bush. When he peeked through the bush, the Fake Alice was, if he had to guess, about thirty or so meters away from them. She was walking through the forest, and didn't have any dolls with her, not even the one that Ray saw with her earlier that day. Without any warning, she spoke.

"You don't have to hide. I already know that you're there."

Reimu sighed and stepped out from behind the tree, as did Marisa. Ray, who decided that he would be better off not making his presence actively known, continued to stay hidden. He felt Alice tap him on the wrist, and she pointed off in a direction in the forest. He looked at her, and he guessed that she could sense that he was confused. She pointed again, jumping a little to show how urgent it was. He had an idea of what she was getting at, and he got himself ready to move when he saw the first opportunity to do so.

When Marisa and Reimu approached "Alice", she put up the same act that she did for Ray, with the hollow smile being the first reaction to their presence. Reimu and Marisa did not move when they saw it. In fact, they were downright unnerved by it. Alice would have never smiled like that. Alice's smiles were always ones of genuine happiness or elation. This one, to Reimu and Marisa, was one that was simply meant to be a formality.

"Wow, Ray-san was right about the smile. It's kinda creepy. Alice wouldn't smile like that." Reimu stated. This drew a bit of snickering from Marisa. Ray watched as Fake Alice's expression went from that to a blank stare. It was the kind of stare that a sociopath would give when their mask dropped. Ray felt a shiver go through him, like if he were to see this Alice in an alley at night, he would do everything to avoid her, lest he be violently murdered.

"So you two know then? At least I don't have to act like a person. That gets tiring. Well, let's get this over with. I'm not giving that idiot girl her body back." She said, her tone flat and lifeless. The two sides stared each other down for a moment, and then it was on. Ray had never seen a magic battle up close before, but it was something to behold. Brightly-colored bullets made of some sort of energy were being thrown around left and right, with the two sides showcasing how dextrous they actually were. Marisa alternated from her broom to using the trees as cover. He had to admit that her "danmaku", as Kourin had called it, were rather pretty. The star-shaped bullets that she shot at the bodysnatcher were each a different color, and if it were not for the fact that he might as well have been in an active firefight, he had a bit of trouble looking away from the colorful show of lights and violence.

Reimu on the other hand, wasn't as flashy. Compared to Marisa, she looked to be treating this about as professionally as he would. Her danmaku, if it could be called that, looked to be the same ofuda that she had handed him earlier. Along with that, she also had a pair of orbs that looked like they were made to look like the traditional yin-yang symbol. They floated around her head and got bigger and smaller as she needed them. When she sent one at the monster, it missed, but it took out a softball-sized chunk of the tree that it had collided with before coming back like a boomerang. She seemed to flit and float around the arena, sometimes even disappearing from one place and reappearing a few meters away, as if she had simply been erased for a moment.

Ray was drawn back to his senses by a little prod in his arm. He looked down to see Alice, She looked up at him with her faceless expression. She still frantically pointed in the same direction that she had been before he had got distracted.

"Alright!" He exclaimed. He scooped her up in one of his hands and took off in a dead sprint in the direction that she had pointed to. When they got a bit further away from the battle, she pointed in another direction, which he obeyed without hesitation. Eventually, he could barely hear the battle, but it was rather hard to breathe. He quickly unscrewed the filter at the end of the hoselike nose of the gas mask and tossed it aside. When he replaced it he heard the sounds of the fighting stop entirely.

"D'you think they beat her?" He asked Alice. She shook her head and pointed to herself. Suddenly, a beam of light cut through the canopy and just barely missed Ray. He clutched Alice to his chest reflexively and looked up. In the air, there was a shadow shaped like the Impostor Alice.

"You're not touching that book!" She shouted. Her voice dripped with malice and murderous intent. Before she could converge on the two of them, she was blindsided by a rainbow-colored ray of light that collided with her. From up in the canopy, he heard Reimu's voice.

"Ray, go and get the book! We've got this!"

"Roger!" He shouted back. He looked down at Alice again and continued to follow her directions until they reached a rather large tree. The tree was rooted in a clearing that had an almost ring-like shape to the canopy that let in enough light to make the place rather quaint to look at. A small stream ran by the tree, one of the arm-thick roots disappearing into the water. Ray walked further into the clearing and looked around frantically, and then looked back at Alice, who was pointing at the tree. There was a large knothole in the tree's trunk. She pointed directly at it. Ray ran over and looked inside. The knothole was very deep and very dark, but he reached in quickly and felt something blocky and flat. He pulled it out and it was indeed a book. This one looked rather similar to some of the ones that he had seen in Patchouli's library, with its thick, pitted and scratched brass cover and lock, albeit the lock on this one was broken.

He reached into the satchel and felt around for the stack of ofuda, but he did not feel them in his bag. He searched around even more frantically, but still without any luck. He opened the satchel wide and looked inside, and that was when he realized that they were not in the satchel anymore. He heard someone land nearby and he felt his stomach drop.

"What a fool you are." The Fake Alice chided.

He turned around to face her. She was covered from head to toe in blue ofuda. Along with that, her dress was singed in a few places and her hair had been messed up rather badly. He looked behind her and there, just behind her right foot, was the stack of ofuda. Somehow, they must have fallen out of his bag.

"I'll kill the two of you before they get here."

She held up her hand, which began to fill with a ball of bright red energy. He held up the book in front of himself as a makeshift shield, but she only laughed at his attempt to protect himself. "Do you really think I'd be amateur enough to hit my own phylactery?" The ball of energy in her hand got larger and larger. Ray could only watch and wait for an opening to move. This was not something that he was used to dealing with, and unlike dodging bullets, mortars, and grenades in a desert, this creature might be able to curve what he guessed was going to be a laser. He felt the sweat sting his eyes, and he blinked it out as quickly as he could.

"Die now and forever stay out of my business!" The Fake Alice said, a maniacal grin on her face. Just when the laser was about to fire off, the two yin-yang orbs hit her in the body loud enough to make a meaty thwack. Alice's body was launched meters to his right. She skidded across the clearing and was stopped by a tree, which was snapped with the amount of force that had impacted it.

"Ray! Get the ofuda on it!" He heard Reimu scream. He did not hesitate as he launched himself for the stack, the book cradled under his arm like a football. When he closed in on it, he dropped down into a slide and picked up the ofuda. He dropped the book in front of him, snapped the piece of twine that kept the ofuda bound together. He grabbed on in each hand and wrenched open the cover of the book, slapping them both down on the front page. When he did this, small streaks of red electricity arced off of the cover of the book and nearly blinded him, as if he had stared at an active welder without a welding helmet on.

He could hear the Fake Alice screaming in agony, and when he looked over, he could confirm that she was most likely in agony, as of blue and red electricity arced across her, they locked eyes for a moment, and in that moment he felt as if whatever entity had taken over her body was cursing him in its mind, since it could only continue to scream. In another moment, it was over, and Alice's body laid still. He looked around and saw Alice, or more specifically, the doll that she had inhabited. It laid on its side and did not move, the same as Alice's body. He then looked at Reimu and Marisa, who stood over Alice. They were still tensed up and ready for combat, and they looked about as worse for wear as Alice. There was only a single thing that stood out, and that was that Marisa's hat was practically spotless.

"Is it her?!" He shouted over. He stood up and walked over to pick up the doll.

"Dunno!" Marisa shouted back. She poked Alice's body with her broom quizzically, and she began to stir. This caused the two youkai exterminators to tense up even more. Marisa held her broom over her head, and Reimu her gohei. Along with that, the two orbs were spinning in place, as if they were ready to fire on her command. Alice's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at the two of them.

"... Marisa? Reimu?" She asked. Her voice was barely a whisper. The duo helped her to a sitting position. Ray, who guessed since Doll-Alice was not moving, and that Alice was moving, that they were successful. He hurried over to the trio and kneeled down at her side. She looked at him, and he looked at her. She could not see the smile that he had through his mask, but he smiled with his eyes as well. After that small moment of silence, he asked something.

"You're the real Alice right, and not that angry... whatever that was?"

Her eyes began to tear up, and she quickly dabbed them with a handkerchief. "Yes, Ray-san, I'm the real Alice." She said. She smiled, and for some reason, it warmed Ray's heart to see it. The smile was a genuine one, one of gratitude. Alice attempted to stand up, but with a wince and a sharp inhale, she fell back into a sitting position. "Don't worry about getting up, Alice. Ray can carry you!" Marisa stated. Ray could see that she was joking, but Alice was still rather out of her head, must not have caught on. He could see the blush that spread across her face and had to stifle a chuckle at her embarrassment.

"Oh no no! I can walk myself back home! I should be fine in a little while!" She stammered out. She attempted to stand up again, and failed once more. After the third attempt and subsequent failure, Ray had had enough of it. He scooped up Alice, who yelped in surprise, and held her in a bridal carry. She looked at him, her eyes wide, her cheeks red and her mouth agape in horror. Before she could protest, he cut her off.

"You may be fine later, but you're not fine _now_. I'm not gonna let go of you, and we're gonna take you back to your house. Reimu, can you grab that book? I slapped some of those talismans on it for you, but I don't know if it was enough." Ray said. Reimu nodded and went to check on the book. Occasionally, it would crackle with red energy, but that was it. She put a more liberal amount of ofuda on it and then that stopped it entirely.

When they reached Alice's house, Ray was surprised that it was Western in design. The paint was chipping in a few places and vined grew up the Eastern wall of it, but overall it was just a quaint little cottage, like he would have seen in the middle of Vermont. The interior was filled with more dolls than he had ever seen in one place, and the whole place had a slight odor that reminded him of the paint that his dad would use to paint his model ships. After Alice temporarily drove them from her bedroom so that she could change into something more suitable to sleep in, Marisa and Reimu returned with tea and chairs. Alice took one of the cups and shakily raised it to her lips. She closed her eyes and savored the taste of the tea with a small smile.

"This is wonderful. Reimu, did you make this?" She asked. Reimu nodded in response and then took a sip of her own tea.

"I don't trust Marisa to make tea for anyone after she used that herb she found in the forest once." Reimu explained. "I'd never seen Sakuya uproot a tree until she was under the influence of... whatever that was."

"One time! It was one time, ze! Will you ever let that go?" Marisa said with a sigh.

Alice could not help but laugh at this. Eventually, Reimu and Marisa joined in as well. When their laughter died down, Marisa was the first to speak up.

"So Alice, what happened? What was it like being a doll?"

Alice looked away for a moment, and then she set her tea cup on the nearby nightstand and took in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she began to speak.

"I wouldn't say that I felt trapped, since that wasn't the case. I was fighting the whole time to try and, well, force my way back into my body. Being unable to talk was an issue, and any dolls I make in the future are going to have a jaw that can unhinge in the off-chance that I can get them to be fully animated. I couldn't feel any pain, which was a blessing, with how that... entity treated me while I planned my escape. But..." Alice began to tremble a bit, which prompted Marisa to lean in closer in case her friend needed her help. What happened, however, was not that. Alice grabbed hold of Marisa's hands and looked her in the eyes, her own beginning to fill the tears.

"It can be done, Marisa! Bringing a doll to life can be done!" She said, barely a choked up whisper. The tears began to flow down her cheeks now as she embraced her friend. Marisa could only pat her on the back as she let her friend cry out her joy. "For years and years I secretly wondered if it could even be done, if I was just wasting time on a fruitless endeavor; but it can! I just need to figure out my own way to do it!"

"Well, if you ever need my help with it, just let me know, ze. I'll give it my all." Marisa assured her. Alice hugged her even tighter as tears continued to flow. Eventually, Alice cried herself tired, and they left her to sleep. When they exited her bedroom, they saw Ray seated at her workbench. In the clamp that Alice used to keep her dolls upright while she maintained them, he had secured the doll that she had been imprisoned in. It was missing its right hand. Where it should have been was a nasty looking snap in the wooden appendage. Ray was writing a note on a piece of paper, and when he was finished, he folded it a bit and leaned it against the doll.

* * *

Ray sat under the overhang of the Outsider's Dorm and watched as people walked by. He drank from a cup of cooled tea and people-watched as the somewhat small number of people who went about their business where the dorms were located, which was somewhere close to the outskirts of the Human Village. There were a few, more esoteric stores and the like here, but other than that it was rather empty in general and was a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the more populated areas of the village. Eventually, he noticed a familiar face emerge from the crowd and begin to make their way over to where he was seated. She was not wearing her usual dress, and had, for some reason, decided to wear something that was somewhere between a schoolboy and a newsie's outfit. He knew who it was, even if other people, for some reason, could not notice who it was.

"Good afternoon, Dobbs-san." She said with a smile. He crossed his arms and gave her a deadpan expression.

"And what are you doing here? I thought the village wasn't a place for youkai." He replied. She looked at him in surprise, and then looked over herself. After she was finished inspecting herself, she looked back at him.

"You can see through my illusion?" She asked.

"I wouldn't call changing clothes an illusion." He answered.

She looked down at the jade amulet that hung from her neck, and then looked back at him with an eyebrow raised. She quickly hid her suspicion and returned to her energetic demeanor.

"Interesting. Not why I'm here, though!"

She sat down next to him in the unoccupied chair across from him. She pulled out her pen and paper, just like last time. When he heard the pen audibly click, he prepared himself for the worst.

"Some fairy contacts of mine told me that they saw you in the company of both youkai exterminators Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei, and that the three of you were seen headed toward the Forest Of Magic. Is this information correct?" She asked him.

He sighed, leaned back, and popped one of his shoulders. His injuries were beginning to act up. Aya continued to look at him expectantly, her pen poised to document whatever he said.

"Yes, that's correct." He stated bluntly. He looked at her as she quickly wrote something down and then looked back at him.

"And, if you don't mind me asking; for what reason were you headed toward the forest with the two of them?"

"Well, there was something that I had found that I think they would have been able to deal with. Due to my own stubbornness and moral code, I chose to help them out, with a little assistance from Kourindou. They have some pretty useful things mixed in with all of the junk."

"Hmmm. Yes, yes," She wrote down some more. "So, along with that, I was told that Kirisame-san and The Hakurei Miko were seen in a battle, not a spell card battle, with one Alice Margatroid." Before she could ask him if that was also true, he held up his hand to make her stop.

"That is something you'd want to speak with Margatroid-san about yourself. I can only tell you what I experienced during that. She was in need of help, and Marisa and Reimu were needed to solve it."

"So it was an incident, then?"

"A what?"

"An incident! That's what things like that are called here! When something out of the ordinary happens here, that's an incident!"

"Sure, it was an incident," He leaned forward and pointed his finger at her. "That girl's been through a lot, so I ask you politely that you don't go pestering her for a story if she doesn't want to tell it."

"Ayayayaya, I'm not one to pester a hurt girl over a scoop! Here, for being so forthcoming." Aya replied.

She reached into a pocket and slid a little brown envelope across the table towards him. He picked it up and looked inside. His brow raised in surprise when he saw that there was at least a half a month's worth of yen in here, in big denominations. He looked back at her, and she winked at him, a smirk on her face.

"Thanks for the info, Dobbs-san. Don't call me, I'll call you."

With that, she disappeared into the crowded streets, with Ray left both curious and surprised.


End file.
